Elite Lord Of Alliance (Inspirit Online) Arriving In The West?

Webzen has partnered with developer Npicsoft to push a Western release for Elite Lord of Alliance (ELOA), a strange prospect because one Western iteration of ELOA already exists—Inspirit Online. In one of the strangest disputes of recent memory, Npicsoft accused Inspirit Online's publisher Game Release Entertainment (GRE.ltd) of illegally using their assets. Promotional beta key giveaways for Inspirit Online were met by copyright claims issued from Npicsoft.

According to a post by one of Inspirit Online's managers on the forums Npicsoft is a"former developer" using a "a combination of scare tactics... ...to conduct defamation by throwing false claims and paperwork at media outlets..." Well, according to today's press release Npicsoft certainly doesn't believe they no longer own the IP. I couldn't find any previous news stating that the IP was for sale either, so the allegation that GRE.ltd published a game they had no rights to with suffieicent infrastrucutre is mind-boggling.

The push for a Western release by Webzen and Npicsoft seems like a gesture towards GRE.ltd. If they can't stop them, might as well enter the arena and see who can still stand at the end of the fight. The first Western beta is scheduled to begin sometime in the fall, with a full release planned before the end of the year.