CME loses Stargate video game license, Resistance to end in January

The curse of the Stargate video game continues, despite the fact that Dark Comet Games managed to successfully get the first title set in the Stargate universe to market last February.  News comes from the studio that MGM has not renewed its original license with Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment, and so the doors will close on Stargate: Resistance on January 15, 2011.

Here is the full announcement from Dark Comet, the production team behind SG:R, as posted on the game’s official Web site:

On November 16, 2010, the License Agreement between Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment, Inc. and MGM Interactive, Inc. expired. As a result, Cheyenne will no longer be able to offer Stargate Resistance for sale to new customers. However, in the best interests of our customers, game play will be provided for a period of 60 days (until January 15, 2011) to customers who purchased Stargate Resistance prior to November 16, 2010. Look for more information as it becomes available.

Resistance is a multi-player, third-person shooter that is completely online, leaving customers who purchased the game with no offline play options after January 15.

When reached by GateWorld, MGM had no comment on the matter of the license expiration or the possibility of its restoration at some point in the future — should, for example, Cheyenne emerge from bankruptcy solvent and ready to resume production on the game.

Dark Comet was formed by former employees and shareholders of CME when that company — several years into the development of its flagship game title Stargate Worlds, as well as Resistance — ran out of money and closed up shop last year.  Both companies and their principals have since been embroiled in a series of legal battles over just who is the rightful head of Cheyenne, and who owns all the Resistance game assets and hardware.

Dark Comet kept the game’s development going, and managed to get it finished and released earlier this year.  But some CME shareholders objected to the fact that the company had acquired the Resistance assets for pennies on the dollar, leaving them with the bill and a bankrupt studio.

Former CME chief Gary Whiting told the East Valley Tribune’s Nerdvana last week that he didn’t think the expiration of the Stargate license would endanger Resistance, since the game had already launched and was under a different license.  Dark Comet has not confirmed if this is the case.

Whiting also told the site that a new, court-appointed receiver is trying to save the Stargate license.

Meanwhile, other agents representing CME filed suit against Dark Comet and Fresh Start Studios in August, accusing the studio of fraudulent transfer of its assets to the new company when CME entered bankruptcy. According to the Nerdvana report, that dispute has been settled and assets ordered returned to CME. There is no such ruling evident in court documents obtained thus far by GateWorld.

Whiting told Nerdvana that he expects Dark Comet to return the game assets to him, comparing his situation in the “hostile takeover” to Tony Stark in Iron Man.  “They took everything I owned and they took … besides my personal property they took my good name,” he said. “When I watched Iron Man, that was my life right there on the screen because of what these guys did to me.”

A November 10 Maricopa County court document indicates that, contrary to Whiting’s claims, the previous court-appointed receiver acted appropriately in his dealings with Dark Comet Games and Tim Jenson, who took over CME after the board attempted to dismiss Whiting.

Dark Comet could not comment further on these developments, but did tell GateWorld that the court-appointed receiver is the only person who can presently speak with authority on matters concerning Cheyenne Mountain and the MGM license.  Other sources should not be taken as credible, the studio representative said.

Aaron Meehan contributed to this report.

(Thanks to PlayItGrand, Joh, and Kouryuu for the tip)