Wizards Of The Coast And Cryptozoic Settle In Their Year-Long Legal Battle

After a year-long battle in court, starting in May of last year, it was announced today via press release that Magic the Gathering rights holder Wizards of the Coast and Hex developers Cryptozoic Entertainment and Hex Entertainment have settled out of court. The terms were undisclosed. You will recall that Wizards of the Coast originally filed a litigation for "willful infringement of intellectual property rights" against Cryptozoic and Hex. While the terms were undisclosed, it is highly unlikely that Cryptozoic and Hex had the upper hand in negotiations.

Wizards of the Coast CEO Greg Leeds warns that "“Wizards of the Coast has always welcomed new games to the trading card game genre, and we encourage TCG fans to not only play Magic, but to try many different games. However, we will not hesitate to take action to protect our intellectual property and the amazing work of hundreds of dedicated Magic team members around the world. That is why we brought this lawsuit." While many games are similar to Magic, it seems that Hex stepped just a bit too close for comfort. Regardless, both Leeds and Hex Entertainment CEO Cory Jones have acknowledged that the terms of the settlement allow Cryptozoic and Hex to "move forward with Hex: Shards of Fate" At what capacity, only time will tell.

The full press release can be viewed on Hex's website.