A two-year legal dispute between Snail Games, its parent Studio Wildcard, and Angela Game has been settled, following allegations that the latter stole the source code of Ark: Survival Evolved.
In a joint statement, the three companies confirmed the dispute has been resolved, and announced Snail Games will work with Angela Game to bring its MMO Myth of Empires back to market.
The dispute began in 2021, when Studio Wildcard and Snail Games alleged that Myth of Empires was built on the source code behind their own title, Ark: Survival Evolved.
Angela Game, also known as Suzhou Angela Online Game Technology, was founded by at least one former employee of Snail Games China.
Studio Wildcard and Snail filed a DMCA that resulted in Valve removing Myth of Empires from Steam in December 2021. The two studios later took legal action against Angela over claims of copyright infringement.
The details of the settlement have not been released, but confirmed Snail would assist with the distribution of Myth of Empires on PC and other future platforms going forward. Angela will also pay Snail ongoing royalty payments from the game.
“Following nearly two years of litigation, we are pleased to announce this settlement agreement for Snail, Angela, and Studio Wildcard,” said Angela Game president Yi Ling Zhang. “Angela acknowledges that it caused difficulties for Snail’s business. By working together, Angela and Snail will put those difficulties behind them.
“Angela regrets any difficulties it caused Snail and look forward to moving into this business partnership. At the same time we hope that, with Snail’s extensive user resources and excellent platform relationships built on Ark, they can assist us in our future publishing efforts, injecting greater market vitality into Myth of Empires.”
Studio Wildcard co-founder Doug Kennedy added: “We are pleased to announce this settlement agreement and facilitate the re-release of Myth of Empires which benefits both parties and opens up additional revenue streams for us through the partnership with Angela.”
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