Home Gaming Fan-made Star Wars game, Galaxy in Turmoil, hit with a Cease and Desist

Fan-made Star Wars game, Galaxy in Turmoil, hit with a Cease and Desist

2 min read
23

GiT

We told you before how Frontwire studios was forging ahead with Galaxy in Turmoil. It’s a fan-made Star Wars game that’d fill in the void left by Star Wars Battlefront 3’s cancellation. It’s a hole that EA’s own Licenced Star Wars: Battlefront has, for many, failed to fill.

Last month, we suspected that the game would run in to legal troubles, largely because its creators have no real idea what does or doesn’t fall under the terms of “fair use.”

Surprise, surprise. It’s been shut down. According to Frontwire president Tony Romanelli, Frontwire received a cease and desist from Lucasfilm.

“On Wednesday June 22, 2016, we received a letter from Lucasfilm requesting that we halt production of Galaxy in Turmoil with any Star Wars related IP at once. Rather than laying down at the first sign of trouble, I requested a meeting with the Lucasfilm executives to discuss our project and to find some common ground to work with. Honestly, I didn’t expect too much negotiation to occur. But much to my surprise, executives at the top of Lucasfilm agreed to meet. A week later, that meeting took place.”

“I was told that Lucasfilm had already spoken with EA about Galaxy in Turmoil and that EA expressed no desire in letting our project continue,” Romanelli added. “Their main concern was due to the possibility of Galaxy in Turmoil taking away attention from their Battlefront franchise.

“I tried to pitch the idea about putting Galaxy in Turmoil behind EA’s paywall but was told that EA had previously rejected that proposition as well. Due to their exclusive contract with EA, Lucasfilm was contractually obligated to deny our request for the use of the Star Wars IP for Galaxy in Turmoil based on EA’s decision. We tried to reach out to EA directly for more information, but we have so far gotten no response.”

So the game will still be made, but everything relating to Star Wars will be excised – along with any real reason for Galaxy in Turmoil to exist.

“Going forward, Frontwire Studios will be pivoting away from Star Wars and embarking on a mission to create a new, original game in a never before seen universe. Our game will still have massive 64-player battles, ground-to-space combat, destructible capital ships, and a full single-player campaign. We will also still be releasing Galaxy in Turmoil on Steam as planned and it will remain a free game.”

Last Updated: August 1, 2016

23 Comments

  1. Kromas GG

    August 1, 2016 at 14:35

    Create a “generic” team based shooter with mod support and then on the same day as launch drop the “unofficial” SW total conversion mod. That should cut out the red tape.

    Reply

  2. Ottokie

    August 1, 2016 at 14:36

    Called it!

    Reply

    • Kromas GG

      August 1, 2016 at 15:34

      I think most of the gaming world called it. Actually the only peeps who did not figure it out was the devs themselves …. for some obscure reason.

      Reply

  3. Pariah

    August 1, 2016 at 14:39

    Copyright issue aside, I bet EA are scared shitless that these fans will make a better game than them.

    Reply

    • nahimgood

      August 1, 2016 at 15:00

      Ea doesn’t give a rats ass what fans are doing. They haven’t been giving a rats ass for years and years and years now. EA, scared shitless. Haha. No one at EA even knows about the this game except the one legal bloke and his/her boss.

      Reply

      • Pariah

        August 1, 2016 at 15:30

        In the article it clearly states that there were multiple discussions with EA, LucasArts and these devs, and up until now they’ve been waiting to see if they’d get the rights to go ahead. That means more than just 1 legal bloke at EA knew about this.

        Try reading next time, ok?

        Reply

      • BakedBagel

        August 1, 2016 at 16:49

        The fact that they got hit with a cease and desist kind of proves that they give a rats ass 😕

        Reply

  4. Viking Of Science

    August 1, 2016 at 14:41

    And the award for most expected Legal action of 2016 goes to….

    Reply

  5. Alien Emperor Trevor

    August 1, 2016 at 14:45

    Ja well, as jy dom is moet jy kak.

    Reply

    • Dutch Matrix

      August 1, 2016 at 14:52

      So, die hele planeet is dan dom. Want ons almal kak. Dis ‘n verloop van die lewe. Kos in. Kak uit.
      😛

      Reply

      • Alien Emperor Trevor

        August 1, 2016 at 14:55

        I don’t speak Afrikaans. ;P

        Reply

        • Dutch Matrix

          August 1, 2016 at 15:17

          Jou Ma ook nie? 😛

          Reply

      • Admiral Chief - Check

        August 1, 2016 at 15:24

        KIKU

        Reply

        • Dutch Matrix

          August 1, 2016 at 15:27

          Ek praat nie Afkorting nie…

          Reply

          • Admiral Chief - Check

            August 1, 2016 at 15:45

            Kos In, Kak Uit

  6. Dane

    August 1, 2016 at 14:52

    What a shame. But well handled on Frontwire’s end. Most other developers would have responded with a reasonable amount of salt.

    Reply

  7. Dutch Matrix

    August 1, 2016 at 14:53

    Dis hartseer, maar tog te verwagte. Jy maak nie ‘n speletjie gebaseer op iets soos Star Wars en verwag dan niks moet gebeur met jou nie…

    Reply

    • Admiral Chief - Check

      August 1, 2016 at 15:24

      Inderdaad, dit is immers hartseer

      Reply

  8. HairyEwok

    August 1, 2016 at 15:21

    So basically this is EA at the moment.
    https://media.giphy.com/media/njYrp176NQsHS/giphy.gif

    Reply

  9. Pariah

    August 1, 2016 at 15:32

    Also.

    “Galaxy in Turmoil devs in turmoil”

    Just saying.

    Reply

  10. chimera_85

    August 1, 2016 at 15:54

    🙁

    Reply

  11. Yondaime

    August 1, 2016 at 16:40

    Once again EA are the cunts of the story, scared of a better game being made without all the BS.

    Reply

  12. BakedBagel

    August 1, 2016 at 16:51

    EA Early 2013: “We don’t want to be viewed as the worst company in America”
    EA Early 2016: “We aren’t trying to be a greedy ‘corporate beast’”

    Yes EA, we believe you fam

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Check Also

Disney has revealed a “real” lightsaber – here’s how it works

For Star Wars Day, Disney blew a lot of geek minds when it debuted an incredible new light…