As usual, the IP owners’ lawyers came in, threatened, and the fans had to stop development, even though the game is currently unavailable for purchase (which raises the issue of game preservation).

In 2018, a dispute over IP ownership arose over the game, which had to be put on hiatus and was eventually shut down. In 2020, the dedicated servers were shut down, and in 2023, sales were suspended with the promise that the game would run until at least the end of 2024. Then, on April 1st, Friday the 13th: The Game – Resurrected was revealed at a somewhat suspicious time, with a release date reveal promised for April 15th. The modders said that the mod would include everything from the base game that didn’t make it into the game, and would be expanded after launch.

Then the team broke all the rules by saying that the base game was not needed for the mod and that the download was available on their Discord server. No wonder that a week later they received a cease and desist letter from Horror Inc: “It is undisputed that you know that your conduct is unauthorized and unlawful. In fact, numerous users on your Discord have pointed out that continuing to distribute this game without a license would obviously be copyright infringement. These warnings are accurate, and your cavalier disregard for copyright law exposes you to liability for willful infringement. In addition to Horror’s other remedies, Horror may seek statutory damages of $150,000 per infringement.

The only way out without paying? Cancel the project, and the team posted about it on Twitter: “It’s a shame that someone wants to fight against a fan-made project without making a profit. It wasn’t our intention to “hurt the brand” as Horror Inc claims we did … Not only is the project over, but so is the franchise itself, as it seems Horror Inc. just want to leave this incredible series behind and let it fade into oblivion. We did ask if there was a chance to get the rights to continue the project, but they basically just told us no. We will probably move on from Friday the 13th and move on with some other projects we have in the works.

It was in development for almost a year and seven people worked on it. Now they are working on other exciting projects with Bloody Pitchfork Games. The Twitter account is gone, and the website just gives a “this site is down” error. This would have happened even if there hadn’t been an IP rights dispute.

Source: PCGamer