Msoft Pulls Plug on Halo RTS Mod
Fan-made Halo real-time strategy mod Halogen was just kicked to death by Microsoft lawyers.
Last night Slip Stream Productions posted an open letter to readers on their forums saying that after three years of production with nary a word from Microsoft, the company has decided to sick their lawyers on the project and tell the development team to stop working on Halogen because they are infringing on the intellectual property of Bungie Studios.
The forums, site and Moddb profile will be shut down within a week.
Dear Friends,
For the last three years, we've worked incessantly to bring you the best Halo mod that we could. There have been a lot of ups and downs, but somehow Halogen has always managed to come out kicking. The problem with using copyrighted intellectual property as a base for a fan project is that you're very susceptible to legal action. We always figured that since Halogen was such a different take on the Halo franchise, we might manage to make it without incident. That changed today.
Hours ago, we finally recieved the words we've been dreading since the mod started to get noticed. Microsoft has decided that we are infringing on the intellectual property of Bungie Studios and has asked us to stop development on Halogen.
I was going to write a big sappy letter here, but what's the point. So..that's it then, I guess. The forums, site, and Moddb profile will all be shut down within the week. I can't say it hasn't been fun. It's a shame it has to end like this, but I suppose that's how it goes. Thanks, guys, for all the time you've spent supporting us. It's been a pleasure. We hate this as much as you do.
- The Halogen Team
Yes, I realize that Microsoft owns the rights to the IP, but waiting three years to tell a group of fans to can their work seems particularly low to me.
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