Legal Troubles for Ark Developer Wildcard

Studio Wildcard, the indie developer behind the hugely popular survival game ARK: Survival Evolved, are at the centre of a legal battle around their debut title. The company founder Jeremy Stieglitz, was previously employed by Trendy Entertainment, creators of the Dungeon Defenders series of tower defence games. It is this prior employment which has caused problems. 

See, when leaving the company, Stieglitz signed a non-competition agreement which stated that he wouldn't engage in any video-game related activity and that he wouldn't approach other Trendy employees with job offers. Trendy are accusing the controversial figure of breaking those rules.

The details were revealed by gaming website Kotaku; the same site who broke news of alleged sexism and poor treatment of staff by Stieglitz. This latest claim will surely come as a blow to a developer who thought that he had moved on from controversy since forming his new studio.

In contrast Stieglitz claims that the accusations are unfounded. He has stated that his role in Ark: Survival Evolved has been purely consultationary  and he denies having approached Trendy staff with job offers. Nonetheless, Trendy have requested a court injunction which, if successful, would result in the game being pulled from sale.

Although famous for a completely different genre of game, Trendy are also alleging that Stieglitz used technology developed in his time with them to aid the development of Ark. If true, then this would mean that the game is not original work and this would be likely to create a particularly long and convoluted court process.

The next hearing is due for the 27th March, when the court will determine if the title can still be sold. After this date, it may not be possible to buy the game, but it's not yet clear what that will mean to existing players if the court finds in Trendy's favour. We'll keep you updated on this story as it develops so if you want to hear more then keep your eyes here on GameGrin.