Last year Victor Miller, screenwriter of the original Friday the 13th, filed a lawsuit against producer Sean Cunningham in an effort to reclaim ownership of the classic slasher franchise.
The case remains ongoing, and now it seems that the dispute had spilled over into the video game world as Gun Media, the company behind Friday the 13th: The Game, has sent out an email to plays advising them that new content is on indefinite hold.
Via Bloody Disgusting, here’s the email in full:
Friday the 13th: The Game has established a loyal and excited fan base over the last year. As publisher/developer, Gun and Illfonic have made every effort to provide our fans with an authentic and great gaming experience.
As many in our community may be aware, a legal claim has been made which could affect all future Friday the 13th intellectual property. Although in the past the game has not been subject to any such claim, new content and material going forward will be affected. An initial decision in this case was expected in October 2017, but no decision has yet been issued. The court review of the legal rights is in process, but final resolution may take some time. Until the claim rights can be dismissed or resolved, no new content can be released.
When we originally learned that the game fell within the crosshairs of this legal dispute, we tried to balance the creation of new content requested by our fans against the maintenance and bug fixing that our community expects and deserves. We attempted to do both within the limits of the legal case.
We’ve now been forced to accept that the lawsuit makes future content for the game, including alternate play modes, new playable Jasons and Counselors, and new maps, unfeasible now or in the future. Although the listed content types will be affected, we remain committed to launching dedicated servers on our console platforms and providing the continued maintenance and bug fixing important to supporting our fan base.
So what does this mean exactly? There will be no additional content added to Friday the 13th: The Game. This includes “Uber Jason”, The Grendel Map, Jason Kill Packs, Clothing, Emotes and new Counselors.
Let’s hope the issue gets resolved soon.
SEE ALSO: Platinum Dunes’ Brad Fuller explains repeated Friday the 13th delays