The Witcher 2 Developer Sued Over Distribution Disagreement
CD Projekt Red's latest action RPG, The Witcher 2, was both a critical and commercial success, selling more than 400,000 copies. Soon after this news, they announced an Xbox 360 version was in the making. There are still problems for the Polish developer however, as CD Projekt has confirmed that they are being sued by Namco Bandai, the European distributors of The Witcher 2.
Apparently, Namco Bandai has accused CD Projekt Red (and THQ) of breaching it's contractual agreements with them twice over. Both THQ and CD Projekt Red are pleading not guilty. According to Namco Bandai, the first contractual violation occurred when they sold The Witcher 2 free of DRM (digital rights management) through their own digital download store, Good Old Games. The second breach took place as they signed an agreement with THQ to distribute their title in Western Europe, New Zealand, Australia, and the Middle East. Both Namco Bandai and CD Projekt Red have had no further comment on the suit other than acknowledging its existence.
Namco Bandai, the publishers of Tekken and Soulcaliber, have said that they had a previous agreement with CD Projekt Red (which is why they believe they have the right to sue them in the first place). With over 400,000 copies sold on the PC alone, it's easy to see why Namco could be upset at the potential profit loss of not distributing a European Xbox 360 port.
