Three years ago, the now defunctHuman Head Studios, developer of the originalPrey, announcedRune: Ragnarok. The title would later change toRune 2, which launched in 2019. Almost immediately, things started going wrong.
The day afterRune 2went live, Human Head Studios announced it was closing down. This came as a surprise for invested players, who expected the studio to continue to support the game, but it also came as a surprise to Ragnarok Game LLC,Rune 2’s publisher. According to Ragnarok Game, Human Head only disclosed its imminent closure a few days before release. From there, things only got stranger as lawsuits began to be filed.
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Ragnarok Game went on to sue Human Head Studios over the developer’s refusal to hand over the source code and other essentials for maintaining the game. Ragnarok Game stated it had always intended to continue supporting the game, but Human Head’s refusal to cooperate hindered that. All of this was further complicated byHuman Head reforming under Bethesda as Roundhouse. Ragnarok Game only found out about this through the press, along with everyone else. As of now, its lawsuit has been amended to include Bethesda and ZeniMax as well.
The new suit states that ZeniMax/Bethesda was an active participant inRune 2’s alleged sabotage. According to Ragnarok Game, Human Head/Roundhouse “conspired” with ZeniMax to be brought under its umbrella before the game was released. The suit alleges that ZeniMax told Human Head Studios not to release the assets and source code forRune 2, and that Human Head Studios' statement of closure was actually penned by ZeniMax. This is certainly odd, sinceBethesda and Human Head Studios clashed overPrey 2years before.If Ragnarok Game’s accusations are true, it would mean Human Head potentially went to Bethesda for a buyout and sabotagedRune 2as part of the deal.
All of this has caused Ragnarok Game to extend its suit to ZeniMax. The suit calls for compensation of “no less than $100 million,” plus other fees. That sounds like a lot to demand from the company thatreleasedThe Quiet Mana year beforeRune 2, and Human Head Studios was clearly in financial trouble if it went to Bethesda for a buyout.
Further complicating things is the fact this accusation is based on the idea that Bethesda/ZeniMax sawRune 2as competition forSkyrim. Ragnarok Game bases this off an “early review” that said the game looked like “Skyrimon steroids.” This “review” was actually an impression of a pre-alpha trailer forRune 2when it was still calledRune: Ragnarok. ConsideringRune 2 was reviewed poorly, it seems unlikelyRune 2would be a serious competitor toSkyrim, adding some grey area into the suit.
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