Factor 5 Sued By Ex-Employees

Star Wars: Rogue Squadron and Lair developer Factor 5 is being sued by former employees for fraudulent behaviour in the wake of its bankruptcy, Gamasutra reports.

The suit alleges that before Factor 5 closed in May, to avoid paying its debts the studio's founders transferred all assets--including source code and intellectual property--to Blue Harvest, a new company under their control which continues to develop the projects.

Factor 5 reportedly faced 69 claims from employees of unpaid wages totalling over $900,000 soon after it closed. The studio was also believed to be up to $10 million in debt to various creditors, including a $4 million loan from LucasArts in 2003.

Blue Harvest, by the way, was a fake working title used by Lucasfilm to conceal the production of Star Wars: Return of the Jedi. Both the allegedly production-hiding company--since renamed White Harvest--and the Factor 5 founders have yet to respond.