The publisher of recently-released Rune II Ragnarok Games is suing staff from developer Human Head.
The company claims that the studio committed fraud after it closed its doors on November 12th, just one day after the game was released. Human Head staff reformed as Roundhouse Studios with the backing of Fallout maker Bethesda with Chris Rhinehart (pictured) taking on the role of creative director.
In a post to the game's community, Ragnarok claims it repeatedly requested the final build of Rune II so that it can continue to support it in the future, with Human Head apparently flat-out refusing to comply. As a result, the publisher claims that the staff is guilty of "fraud and malice." Human Head has also forfeited $110,000 that it was to be paid to support the game after launch.
Ragnarok's lawsuit has the publisher seeking damages of "no less than $100m" under California law.
“Sadly, we had to wind down the business of Human Head Studios and close its doors, which was particularly devastating due to the passion and creativity of the team we’d assembled,” Roundhouse creative director Chris Rhinehart (pictured) said when the studio was announced.
"We reached out to our friends at Bethesda for help, and they saw that same creativity and passion in our team. With the formation of Roundhouse Studios, Bethesda offered every employee of Human Head a position at the new company. We are excited our team will remain together, pursuing the work we love, as part of a company we already know and admire.”