Fans Demand Refunds As Friday the 13th Game Is On Hold

Friday the 13th Game Owners Begin Demanding Refunds After Game Is On Hiatus

I’m not going to lie, I have never been much of a fan of the Friday the 13th game, but I never doubted that the developers were not keen on trying to make something special here. Over the last week though, things have just taken a major downturn that could potentially affect the future of the game.

A legal battle has arisen over the IP rights to Friday the 13th and as such, all development on the game has had to stop. With this legal battle potentially set to rage for months or years, this may effectively have killed the game outright.

Legal Battle Undermines Game

Details over the exact matter of the law case are not entirely clear. In fairness, we wouldn’t expect them to be either. It is, however, believed that the writer for the original Friday the 13th film may be challenging the creator. It’s difficult to understand, but put simply the writer has a right to withdraw their permission after a certain amount of time. With a new Friday the 13th reboot reportedly in the works, this isn’t entirely surprising.

What it has done, however, is create an issue where Gun Media, the game’s developer has had to cease any and all further development or additions to the game. Literally, all they can legally do at this point is bug fix and server maintenance. In a report via Polygon, Gun Media has confirmed that any DLC additions, new content or even costume packs are on hold. The video below does attempt to explain the legal matter for anyone curious for the details.

Move That Has More Or Less Cancelled The Game

This news and the developments that have come since has effectively confirmed that the game may very well be cancelled. At least in terms of any new content. Some fans, for example, have asked why new costumes can’t be added, or even potentially new maps. If it doesn’t focus on Friday the 13th or Jason what can possibly be the problem?

Well, ultimately it all comes down to the value of the game. A judge would look very kindly on Gun Media if they did anything that potentially affected the value of it.

Why Does This Mean The Game Is Cancelled Though?

The developers have confirmed that all they can essentially do is apply bug fixes to the current build of the game and maintain the servers. Anything beyond that could put them in severe hot water in legal terms. They can’t add costumes, new textures, they can’t even add a new rock or tree without potentially being sued.

With the legal matter potentially set to take months, if not years though, a game clearly cannot stop development for that length of time. This, therefore, is being interpreted by many as the effective permanent cancellation of any further development on the game.

Fans Are Not Happy And Some Are Demanding A Refund

As you can imagine, fans are not happy with this news. With the game specifically being sold at a higher price to warrant the development of further content, some feel that Gun Media has effectively betrayed its fans and as such they should be entitled to a refund to account for this loss. This, despite the fact that the legal matter is absolutely nothing to do with them. If you think that’s bad though, some fans have worse theories. Some have suggested that this is exactly what Gun Media wanted.

If you want proof of this, just check out the discussion board on the Steam page. It is beginning to fill with ‘refund’ requests.

I have always said that the scope of Friday the 13th The Game was bigger than they were ever able to cope with. I think they got lucky getting the rights to it and once they did they understood that the expectations were insanely higher. That is, however, pretty much the extent of my criticism. Some, however, have taken this to another level.

A Convenient Excuse To Wash Their Hands

Some fans, therefore, believe that this legal debate has given Gun Media the perfect excuse to cut their losses. To effectively be able to draw a line under the game. A game that they had, incidentally, always struggled to get to a good solid state.

While I do not personally believe that is true, I do understand how people have come to that conclusion. The development for Friday the 13th has always been buggy and that is being very diplomatic.

Ultimate though, it seems that Friday the 13th The Game is probably dead. At least, in terms of any future development. What we have now is effectively the final cut and given how improved the game had gotten in recent months, that’s actually quite sad.

What do you think? Were you a fan of this game? Are you disappointed with the legal case effectively ending it? In addition, do you think you deserve a refund? – Let us know in the comments!