Funcom responds to Blacksnow dispute

Funcom, the creator of the online role-playing game Anarchy Online, has responded to a dispute with Blacksnow Interactive, a company based on buying and selling items in online games. Blacksnow has threatened to take legal action against Funcom over the banning of 22 of its employees' accounts if Funcom does not reactivate the accounts. According to a Funcom representative, the accounts were banned in the regular course of finding players using exploits and banning their accounts, and the company has no plans to reactivate the accounts. Funcom believes that the use of exploits ruins the balance of the game and could potentially destroy the economy in Rubi-Ka, Anarchy Online's persistent sci-fi gameworld.

In February, Blacksnow filed a lawsuit over a similar dispute with Mythic Entertainment, the company that created Dark Age of Camelot. Mythic has not issued a comment on the lawsuit. For information about Blacksnow Interactive, visit the company's official Web site.

Anarchy Online was launched in June 2001. The game is set in a persistent sci-fi world torn by a war between a powerful corporation and an alliance of rebel factions. Dark Age of Camelot was launched in October 2001. The game's medieval fantasy world is inspired by Arthurian and other traditional European legends. Players assume the role of characters in one of three warring realms, and they can develop their character by gaining experience from combat and quests. For more information about these games, take a look at our full reviews of Dark Age of Camelot.