Rune II publisher suing development team for $100M

Rune II

Ragnarok Games has announced that it has filed a lawsuit against the now-defunct Human Head Studios, developers of Rune II. Human Head had worked cooperatively with Ragnarok to develop and release the game which made its debut on November 12th. However, the very next day, Human Head announced its closure and reformation as Roundhouse Studios under the Bethesda banner.

In the days following the closure, publisher Ragnarok Games reassured the community that it would continue to improve and expand the game. To do so, Ragnarok needed the final build and assets from the game. Requests to that end have fallen on deaf ears according to the letter to the community posted yesterday.

“Since Human Head’s sudden closure, announcement, and discovering the active concealment of their acquisition, we have repeatedly requested access to the final launch build source code and RUNE II game assets. This is so we can continue to support, update, and execute future DLC for our community. As part of the publishing agreement on RUNE II, Ragnarok Game LLC has paid for the development of these assets and is the rightful owner of them. After repeated refusals by Human Head to produce these assets, we’ve had no choice but to file a legal complaint in order to obtain the RUNE II game assets. We have exhausted all possible options before getting to this point.  This is not the step we wanted to take, but it is necessary in order to fulfill our promises to our community.”

The lawsuit cites Breach of Contract, Fraudulent Concealment, Conversion, Fraudulent Misrepresentation, and Unfair Business Practices in papers filed in California. Ragnarok is seeking all assets for Rune II as well as up to $100M in compensatory damages. Read the documentation here.

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