Gameforge Slaps Magic To Master With Copyright Infringement Complaint

Laniatus Game’s Magic to Master Kickstarter campaign has been put on hold due to a copyright infringement lawsuit filed by Gameforge. The game’s Kickstarter page currently displays an unavailable notice, linking to a copyright notification document.

Gameforge alleges that the Magic to Master project used assets stolen from Metin 2. Several of Laniatus’ developers were apparently former Gameforge employees, leading the latter to take legal action against them for the illicit use of intellectual property rights.

“The infringing content uses stolen parts of the Metin2 game engine and pretends them to be their own product,” claims Gameforge. “Members of their team have been associated with Gameforge in the past, legal actions against these persons are already on their way. We - Gameforge - are not related to this infringement nor accept illegal activities associated with it.”

The lawsuit follows the team's earlier use of fake testimonials from outlets such as MMORPG.com and Game Rant during the Kickstarter campaign. These fake testimonials were later removed, with the team explaining that they were placeholders used for testing purposes and expressing apologies for any misunderstandings.

The legal dispute is expected to take time, leaving the future of Magic to Master uncertain, although its Steam page is still active. It’ll also likely have significant implications for the development of the game as well as its release. For now, it remains to be seen how the involved parties will reach a resolution and what Magic to Master’s ultimate fate will be.