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Judge Denies Lifting Myth of Empires Injunction, Angela Game Appeals as Case Continues

Christina Gonzalez Updated: Posted:
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 Myth of Empires has been back on sale via its own launcher for a couple of weeks now, but the studio behind it, Angela Game, is still fighting back in court to appeal a denial by a judge to lift an injunction preventing the game from getting back on Steam.

The original case was filed back in December by Snail Games, with a copyright claim that got Valve to remove Myth of Empires from the platform, where it had been in early access release. Snail Games’ allegations of infringement were rooted in what it called stolen source code by former employees on ARK: Survival Evolved that later moved over to Angela Game. Thus, the initial copyright claim and takedown, followed by Angela Game’s lawsuit requesting an injunction and then Snail Games’ countersuing over the copyright claim and accusations of destroying or altering evidence. 

With Myth of Empires removed from Steam for weeks, it was clear that any expected revenue was on hold unless this were lifted. While the legal pile grew, Myth of Empires got its own proprietary launcher and was put back on sale. Those that already had the game installed and in their Steam libraries could still log in that way using the existing server, but the new launcher was an option to at least begin making money again to support operations and development. It is not clear how successful the return has been, but the game held some recent events.

A judge denied the request for injunction and Angela Games is appealing. According to MMOFallout, the case has been sent to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals with an order for the companies to both agree on an independent expert that can verify source code comparisons. If the two companies can’t agree on an expert by February 19th, they each submit one proposal and the court will pick one.

With the next phase of this case looking likely to stretch into at least March, it’s likely that Myth of Empires will remain off Steam for some time, if it does return. Yet it’s clear that both sides are maintaining their cases. 


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Christina Gonzalez

Christina is MMORPG.COM’s News Editor and a contributor since 2011. Always a fan of great community and wondering if the same sort of magic that was her first guild exists anymore.