Star Citizen developer responds to Crytek’s lawsuit over misuse of its CryEngine

Developers of ambitious space simulator Star Citizen, Cloud Imperium Games and Roberts Space Industries have responded to Crytek’s legal action taken against the teams for misuse of its CryEngine. This won’t be the only legal battle that Crytek is embroiled in, as it already has a former employee suing over lack of paid wages.

Back in 2016, Cloud Imperium Games (CIG) stated that it was moving away from CryEngine 3 in favour of Amazon’s Lumberyard product, but according to Crytek, Star Citizen continues to use the engine in some capacity. This is evident in marketing material for the game, which shows lines of code belonging to none other than CryEngine 3.

The lawsuit details that CSI “improperly removed” the CryEngine logo from the game’s initial loading and that both CSI and Roberts Space Industries (RSI) failed to disclose modifications to the engine as per the original agreement.

Moreover, Crytek states that since Star Citizen has been split into two games since 2016, with its multiplayer component and single-player Squadron 42, this counts as two separate uses of the same engine, and therefore is an even further breach of contract.

Cloud Imperium Games has called Crytek’s case “meritless” in a statement to Polygon, as the company “hasn’t used the CryEngine for quite some time” since switching. CIG also goes on to say it will not only “defend vigorously” against the claims, but it will also attempt to recover any costs that are a result of the lawsuit.

KitGuru Says: Considering Crytek has reportedly been in financial trouble across recent years, not to mention the clashes with former employees, it does look like the company could be looking for a way out. That being said, perhaps there is a basis for these claims. We will find out when the more-than-likely-long and arduous legal process finds some answers.

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