Fallout MMO can continue to move forward as Bethesda lawsuit suffers a setback

By Adam Rosenberg September 23, 2011

fallout-new-vegas-lonesome-road — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Work can officially continue on the Fallout MMO that is currently in development at Interplay and Masthead Studios. The news comes after a court ruled against Bethesda Softworks‘ bid for a temporary restraining order to be placed on the game, Gamasutra reports. This is the latest development in a long-running legal dispute between the companies, all of it centering around the Fallout universe.

For those that aren’t aware, current Fallout series license holder Bethesda Softworks has been locked in a ongoing legal disputes with original license holder Interplay since 2009. The New Vegas publisher purchased the rights to the series in 2007 and then licensed them back to Interplay, which set to work on bringing together a massively multiplayer online game for the Fallout universe. Bethesda then sued the company two years later for allegedly not meeting its part in the agreement.

This latest development came about as a result of what the judge deemed to be a slow response from Bethesda. According to the terms of the agreement, Masthead is not allowed to use any pre-existing assets from the Fallout universe. The problem, as the judge saw it, is that Bethesda knew of the infringments it’s alleging as early as February, 2011 but didn’t act until seven months later.

Or, to put it another way, this entire situation is a giant mess.

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Former Digital Trends Contributor

Previously, Adam worked in the games press as a freelance writer and critic for a range of outlets, including Digital Trends…

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