Drug Dealer Simulator's Movie Games S.A. claims that an investigation is ongoing, but that "there is no lawsuit."
After several news outlets reported on a possible lawsuit between Drug Dealer Simulator publisher Movie Games S.A. and TGVS, who developed the hit game Schedule 1, the former now tries to clarify the situation.
What's The Controversy About?
The Steam hit Schedule 1 doesn't need any explanation, but if you somehow missed what the surprise hit is about, we recently reported on the drug-dealing sim with over 400,000 simultaneous players on Steam. Several news outlets stated that publisher Movie Games S.A. is sueing Schedule 1 developer TGVS for copyright infringement of their game Drug Dealer Simulator. In a statement posted yesterday, Movie Games now says: "There is no lawsuit".
Stop Review-Bombing
In an effort to appease the angry community, Movie Games continued by stating that it isn't their intention to stop Schedule 1's selling or development. They also say that the analysis and investigation are necessary, because of repeating opinions of the games' similarities. If they wouldn't investigate it, there could be potential legal issues, because of the publisher being a publicly traded company. After noting that it was wrongly reported on this being a lawsuit, coming from Polish site ESPI, they assured everyone that the developer, Byterunners, is not involved in this case.
Announcement Splits The Community
Movie Games S.A. ends their statement by saying, while they wished best for Schedule 1, they are obligated to conduct the investigation:
There is no ill will towards TVGS. We even mailed them best wishes shortly before the release, when the game was already huge, but before the investigation was deemed necessary. However, we are obligated to perform this investigation, act accordingly to the scope of the infringement if it is confirmed, and inform the public about it via ESPI.
Even though it read as a plea to stop the huge wave of negative reviews on Steam, fans are outraged by this announcement. The question as to how similar games of the same genre may be still arises. How similar can gameplay and story elements be, before they infringe on the intellectual property?
In the comments to Movie Games S.A.'s statements, fans are questioning the necessity of such an investigation. While many comments still accuse them of being jealous of Schedule 1's fame, there are also comments supportive of Drug Dealer Simulator and even side with them on possible infringement.
What do you think of these allegations? Did you play both games and noticed striking similarities?
Do you think the investigation is necessary?