Silicon Knights, Epic Continue Legal Sparring

Silicon Knights has responded to Epic Games' rebuttal and motion to dismiss the Canadian developer's lawsuit regarding its grievances with the Unreal Engine 3 during the development of Too Human (X360). Filed by Silicon Knights on September 7, the 29-page document specifically addresses Epic's attempt to get the case thrown out and its claims that the company has nothing to gain if it delivers lacking technology to licensees. "For Epic to attempt to dispute the merit of those allegations [of the original suit] under the auspices of a motion to dismiss is improper," it reads, according to Next-Gen.biz. "Therefore, EpicÂ’s Motion to dismiss should be denied in its entirety, Epic should be ordered to answer the Complaint, and this case should proceed to discovery and trial. "The profits Epic assured for itself by having Gears of War as the marquee title for the Xbox 360 dwarf any gain Epic would receive from Silicon Knights purchasing a subsequent licenses for the Engine," it continues. Silicon Knights has accused Epic of holding back Unreal Engine 3 optimizations and features until after Epic's Gears of War was released, as to guarantee it would be among the most technically impressive, and therefore best selling, titles on the platform at the time. As part of its lawsuit--the allegations of which include Fraud, Negligent Misrepresentation, and Breach of Contract--Silicon Knights has demanded that Epic hand over all of its profits from Gears of War. In its initial response, Epic stressed the significance of Silicon Knights founder Denis Dyack signing the Unreal Engine 3 License Agreement, which states that Epic "[does] not include any warranty that (i) the functions performed by the Unreal Engine... will meet [Silicon Knights'] requirements, nor (ii) that the operations of the Unreal Engine... will be bug free or error free in all circumstances, nor (iii) that any defects in the Unreal Engine... can or will be corrected." In the days following the the lawsuit's original filing, Shacknews polled multiple developers with Unreal Engine experience. Responses ranged from positive to negative, though none claimed to experience problems as severe as those of Silicon Knights.