Trent in Trouble: Beamdog forbidden from selling and patching BG:EE, BG2:EE on "indefinite hold"
Trent in Trouble: Beamdog forbidden from selling and patching BG:EE, BG2:EE on "indefinite hold"
Game News - posted by Infinitron on Tue 25 June 2013, 19:49:57
Tags: Atari; Baldur's Gate; Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn; Beamdog; Trent OsterOn June 20th, visitors to Beamdog's Baldursgate.com site were greeted with following message:
In a post on RockPaperShotgun published yesterday, Trent added:
In these official announcements, Trent has been reluctant to specify the identity of the "publishing partner" in question, but he's been more loquacious about the affair on Twitter:
It's possible that Atari have somehow lost whatever rights they had to Baldur's Gate in the course of their ongoing bankruptcy. Yet that hasn't stopped them from selling BG:EE independently on Steam (where they conveniently pay little to no royalties to Beamdog). And Trent's own Twitter post indicates that Atari's bankruptcy is not the primary reason for BG:EE's "contractual issues".
So the question remains, which party is to blame? Most people's sympathies automatically lie with the plucky developer up against an Evil Publisher, of course. Personally, I'm not entirely sure about that. Hopefully we'll find out who is responsible sooner rather than later, so we can laugh at them derisively.
Dear Friends of Baldur's Gate,
We recently removed Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition from sale on Beamdog and the Apple App Store. We've taken this step at our publishing partner's request as we attempt to resolve a number of contractual issues.
Unfortunately, until this matter is resolved, we are unable to release the latest Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition patch or Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition for Android.
This also prevents the launch of Baldur's Gate II: Enhanced Edition. I sincerely apologize to the series' fans and promise we are working diligently to remedy the situation.
Regards,
Trent Oster
President, Beamdog & Overhaul Games
In a post on RockPaperShotgun published yesterday, Trent added:
“The prognosis [for resuming work on Baldur's Gate] is mixed,” he admitted to RPS. “Best case, we can sort this out soon. Worst case, this could be in legal hell for a while. I like making games, but this contractual dispute bullshit keeps me up at night.”
As a result, the team hasn’t given up on Baldur’s Gate III, but the road to the pie-in-the-sky sequel just got a whole, whole lot rockier.
“Baldur’s Gate II: Enhanced Edition is on indefinite hold, as is the current patch,” said Oster. “Baldur’s Gate III, we are still interested in the concept, but currently I’d say were very demoralized.”
In these official announcements, Trent has been reluctant to specify the identity of the "publishing partner" in question, but he's been more loquacious about the affair on Twitter:
@TrentOster
@Com_Raven @BastianThun This is an Atari issue. The bankruptcy is not helping either
It's possible that Atari have somehow lost whatever rights they had to Baldur's Gate in the course of their ongoing bankruptcy. Yet that hasn't stopped them from selling BG:EE independently on Steam (where they conveniently pay little to no royalties to Beamdog). And Trent's own Twitter post indicates that Atari's bankruptcy is not the primary reason for BG:EE's "contractual issues".
So the question remains, which party is to blame? Most people's sympathies automatically lie with the plucky developer up against an Evil Publisher, of course. Personally, I'm not entirely sure about that. Hopefully we'll find out who is responsible sooner rather than later, so we can laugh at them derisively.
