Last week was pretty hectic around the site and I missed being a little more timely on this news. It was January when we last heard about the legal feud between Stardock and the Star Control creators, Fred Ford and Paul Reiche. At the time, Star Control: Origins had just returned from extinction after Ford and Reiche filed a DMCA takedown against Stardock’s allegedly infringing efforts.
We were expecting more legal battles but in a twist of fate, all parties involved have come to an amicable agreement. Each side released their own statements but the gist is that their differences have been settled and both parties can now create the games they set out to make, with just a few modifications. Ford and Reiche’s statement lay things out in a handy list format and include revelations like:
- Stardock will create new games in the Star Control franchise. Paul & Fred will create new games in the Ur-Quan Masters franchise.
- To help differentiate the two franchises Paul volunteered to create a few new alien races for Origins.
- Stardock dropped all its alien name and character trademarks and all parties have dropped their oppositions to each other’s trademarks.
- The settlement resolved all issues with all the parties, including Valve and GOG.
- Stardock accepts that Paul & Fred are the creators of Star Control and Star Control II.
Most importantly for fans of the series (and delisted watch dogs), is the news that the original Star Control trilogy has returned to sale on both Steam and GOG.com. Stardock has become the new publisher of the relisted titles and royalties will be split evenly between all parties.
So unless a new antagonist appears with a lawsuit stating that they own the rights to Star Control, it looks like these tumultuous delistings and relistings are finally behind us. Ya know, until Steam or GOG shut down anyways.