Elemental: War of Magic was disastrous for Stardock. At launch in August 2010, it was buggy, unbalanced, and just, well, a bit bad. Poor sales led to layoffs and the whole affair severely harmed Stardock's hard-earned reputation. A lot clearly hangs upon expansion-turned-standalone Elemental: Fallen Enchantress, then, which Stardock has announced will launch on October 23.

Read more: Discounted or free if you own original Elemental »

Stardock CEO Brad Wardell has always been outspoken. But, was he out of line with his treatment of one former employee? That's what the courts are deciding in an ongoing lawsuit between Wardell and Alexandra Miseta.

Earlier this month, Stardock filed a lawsuit against Miseta, former marketing manager at the company. The company alleges that she is partly responsible for the failure of Elemental: War of Magic. The game's launch was so poorly managed that it led to severe layoffs at the company.

Stardock alleges that Miseta "deleted, destroyed, and/or stole" marketing and analytics information regarding Elemental when she quit the company weeks before the game's launch. The company is seeking over a million dollars in damages. However, Miseta filed a suit against Wardell months after her departure, claiming sexual harassment.

Read more: He says, she says »