S.T.A.L.K.E.R. rights disputed
By
Eddie Makuch, News Editor
GSC Game World claims it is the sole owner of the IP rights to game series, challenging bitComposer's assertion.
Yesterday, bitComposer Entertainment announced it had acquired the worldwide exclusive rights to the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series. Now, this claim has been contested. GSC Game World and CEO Sergey Grigorovich have issued a statement claiming that GSC Game World is in fact the sole rights owner for the franchise.
"In view of the rumors appearing in press, we find it necessary to inform that GSC Game World and Sergey Grigorovich remain to be the sole owners of all the intellectual property rights to the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. game series and the brand overall, including all the trademarks, the game universe, the technology etc," the company said. "This can be easily verified with the trademark services online."
The fate of the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series has been enshrouded in mystery of late. Earlier this year, rumor had it that Fallout and Elder Scrolls publisher Bethesda was to take over the series. Before that, developer GSC Game World was shut down, with S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 being canceled outright, despite efforts to keep the project alive.
The S.T.A.L.K.E.R. games are centered around Chernobyl, which suffered a nuclear reactor meltdown in 1986. In the original game, the town is subjected to a second dose of nuclear fallout, spawning a rash of hideously mutated monsters. GSC Game World released two follow-ups to the original game: Clear Sky and Call of Pripyat.
By
Eddie Makuch, News Editor
Eddie Makuch (Mack-ooh) is a News Editor at GameSpot. He works out of the company's Boston office in Somerville, Mass., and loves extra chunky peanut butter.
70 comments
Well if bitComposer acquired their rights from Boris Strugatsky then i guess they'll be doing something close to the book, granted as close as a company like that could hope to do it.
1 Like I just fired up SOC, with the Complete Mod, and took a two week tour of the zone. It's like the third or fourth time I've completed the game and I have some kind of adult ADD or something because I almost never play the same game twice. However, the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series is amazing and I have a feeling I'll be playing Clear Sky and Call of Pripyat soon as well.
With any hope, fans of the series won't have to witness bitComposer release the game. Look at what that developer did to Jagged Alliance...
1 Like they need to port stalker to the 360. that game had some deep atmosphere and some chilling sections, especially underground. could make a ton of money for whoever owns the rights and ports it to the current consoles.
1 Like All this means is that Sergey Grigorovich is working on starting a new studio. This could be good news or if he doesn't get it happening, then he should sell the IP immediately. Stalker is too good to be cancelled in any respect.
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1 Like @Bl4KD37H the x-ray engine is good it have some of the best skyboxes i have seen in a video game after all it was made by 2 guys only some modders praise it.
1 Like @Bl4KD37H Which one did you play? The only game I had any significant issues with was Clear Sky. The other two were fine.
Question is STALKER dead or alive.I thinking it better to be dead because in the is turmoil if making a new STALKER will be equally SHIT game!!!
2 Like Thank goodness! I would rather have Bethesda get the IP before bitComposer! bC makes a mess of everything they touch!
I just hope that somehow, hopefully soon, we can get another Stalker game!
7 Like @MindlessTeef If Bethesda got the license we'd just get S.K.Y.R.I.M. instead. Skyrim isn't a bad game, but S.T.A.L.K.E.R. is something totally different and I don't want it to become Fallout 4 with Ukrainian accents.
@IgotEpixx S.K.Y.R.I.M! Ah! That is funny.
That's why I suggested Obsidian do the work instead. And you won't likely find a bigger Stalker fan than me. I followed the 1st game for nearly 6 years and still have a DVD full of every single trailer and all the leaked pre-alpha builts of, back then, Oblivion Lost.
Ironic, GSC changed the "Oblivion Lost" to "Shadow of Chernobyl" due to the release of TES Oblivion. Sort of a full circle if Bethesda does end up with it.
Bu yeah, like I mentioned before, there's other Dev's I would rather have it. But after that bitComposer scare... I would rather have Infinity Ward get the IP!
Stalker of Duty... hey, I'm on to something here! Duty being a faction in Stalker as well and all:)
1 Like @MindlessTeef id rather stalker die that going to bethesda hads bethesda is overrated there games have tons of bugs plot holes and crappy writing and all this with a shit game engine.
3 Like @gamingfrendly Bethesda no loner uses the gamebryo engine, thankfully. I have played Morrowind, Oblivion, Skyrim and Fallout 3... amongst these titles there where no more bugs than I have seen in other games. Boiling Point comes to mind, badly broken game, but awesome. Plot holes... can't say I have noticed. Don't really pay attention to the story due to the crappy writing:)
Bethesda isn't my favorite developer, sadly... all my favorite ones are no more by now. I do generally like the worlds Bethesda built and I play them for the gameplay, not the story as much. The reason I hope Bethesda ends up with the Stalker IP is the hope that they would ask Obsidian to develop the game. And yes I know, Obsidian is also known for bugs.
Otherwise 4Games should do a good job, but I oddly enough think that CD Project Red would make a rather good Stalker as well. Otherwise... just get Vostok Games to make it! That would be the most logical choice.
@AtomicBaconBits @MindlessTeef
"Skyrim is powered by Bethesda's own Creation Engine"
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Elder_Scrolls_V:_Skyrim#Technology
The Creation Engine has "mutated" out of Gamebryo engine, but it is not the Gamebryo engine.
@MindlessTeef All the Gamebryo console commands still work on the PC version of Skyrim. They still use Gamebryo, it's just an updated version.
1 Like @MindlessTeef the new bethesda engine have gamebyro elements in it but yes the worlds bethesda make are good other than that idk id take 4games or vostok as they both hve guys who made shadow of chernobyl.
guys you're not making Crysis 5, You're making a shooter with atmosphere, survilval elements in it
Not really related, but I'm just gonna say this now, I'm guessing Survarium will be a flop :).
1 Like Don't care who owns it, just release an awesome game! If one group owns it and aren't going to make a sequel then they are idiots and the other group should have the rights as long as they releas something.
@mrklorox Better no game then ruined franchise... S.K.Y.R.I.M. and Stalker of Duty whould be the worst I guess...
@good_evil No game as just as bad as ruining the franchise. I'd rather three companies battle it out for the rights and make their own interpretations of the games than nobody making anything.
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@brxricano Empty movie theater? Have you not seen the multitude of games in the past 5 years that have tried to pull off the whole open world first person survival genre?
10 Like I just hope STALKER deals are made, everyone is happy, and the games will continue on. It would be a shame for the series to die.
I don't understand what will happen if Bethesda will take this game? and make it a...well a new kind of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. The bugs will make people run away from it? Trust me/or not, if you love a game, lore etc you will forget about the small/huge bugs.
So far every game i checked around had a bug here and there, thats because technology is not perfect, and it will never be top notch.
Holding out for some extra cash, no doubt. Perhaps bitComposer need new lawyeres who read the fine print a bit better.
Here we go again sigh :( more silly studios arguing over rights to ip's they never intend to Ever use.
Just give em to Bethesda and be done with it.
GSC developed all three games, and bitComposer published the most recent one. If anyone's going to use the IP, it's them, since they actually have a history of doing so.
Well... uh... something must have happened to make them believe they owned the thing.
There's something going on here...
@naryanrobinson STALKER the game is "inspired by" or "heavily borrows from" a movie called Stalker, which was based on a novel from the same writers (Sturgatsky brothers) called Roadside Picnic.. BitComposer has acquired the rights to the Sturgatsky's stuff..
It seems GSC never bought the rights to the Stalker movie or Roadside Picnic in the first place before making the STALKER games, which were highly inspired by those sources.
So both companies come off as looking shady and slimy, with BitComposer looking slightly worse because they seem to be trying to fool people.
Why the hell we can't expect the Gamespot articles to actually inform us is beyond me.
1 Like @mrklorox Eddie generally tends to not know very much about something when he decides to write an article on it.
I find it's often just filler that everyone already knows or it's padded out with obvious stuff or stuff taken from a previous article.
At this point I could carless who owns the rights to the game, because who ever does own it better make STALKER 2 and other games in the series or this who owns what is pointless.
In other words just make STALKER 2.
So they cancel STALKER 2, but then dispute someone else trying to buy the name and make more games?
Why
@Roger_Smith Because Sergey Grigorovich is a shady dude.
He illicitly appropriated the universe, then fired the people working on the game, and now he's sitting on the STALKER game brand waiting for somebody to pay him for the rights like a patent troll. BitComposer said, "fuck this dude, we want another Stalker game to actually be made," and bought the original Stalker/Roadside Picnic rights that GSC never paid for.
@Roger_Smith Just because you cancel the making of a game doesn't mean you give up the rights to it. You could never make an iteration of the game ever again, but would still own the rights to it.
1 Like Wasn't the reason S.T.A.L.K.E.R 2 was cancelled because GSC Game World could not get the rights for? How the hell could they not get the rights to make the game if they themselves own the f***ing rights?! y u no make sense?!
@System4Ever you people mix alot of things up go to russian and ukrainian forums they have the correct news GSC is not dead and they have the rights to stalker with the dots or what ever its alot to explain.
@gamingfrendly Well seeing as how you clearly think your superiour to us then please explain great over lord what the truth is...
@System4Ever its the truth gamespot and the other gaming websites mashed information and put misleading titles on articles, they said GSC is closed or "shutdown" while its not also thats they could not make a new stalker because of the rights Sergey Grigorovich have them but not vostok devs who left GSC there is other confusions and missing info too in the english articles.
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S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat
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- Publisher(s): Viva Media, LLC
- Developer(s): GSC Game World
- Genre: Action
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