HanbitSoft CEO claims ownership rights to Hellgate:London and Mythos
We're still reeling over the news that Flagship Studios has met its demise. Seeing any hard working development studio with loads of potential go belly-up isn't easy considering all the real people affected from the fallout. Bill Roper hasn't made a public announcement yet, but the closure of Flagship Studios was confirmed. What will happen to Mythos and Hellgate:London is a question that remains on many minds. The HanbitSoft CEO, Kim Ki-young chips away at that answer in a response to an inquiry by TheGames.co.kr seeking clarification about the situation surrounding Hellgate:London and Mythos.
In a translation provided by Hellgate Guru, Kim Ki-young of HanbitSoft states: "If we can take intellectual property rights of relevant products from Flagship Studios, we have confidence to develop the games ourselves based on T3 Entertainment's advanced technology' and 'we believe we can service fresh and interesting games to online gamers by getting intellectual property rights and development. This crisis could be an opportunity for us."
Kim Ki-young reaffirms that HanbitSoft owns the rights to both Mythos and Hellgate:London, but cannot legally acquire these rights until Flagship files for bankruptcy or HanbitSoft otherwise receives legal confirmation regarding the default on loan agreements on Flagship's part; however, HanbitSoft saw the default coming as preparations started long ago for this crucial moment.
Kim concludes with, "It is unfortunate that Flagship turned down additional investments HanbitSoft offered to make that would have allowed it to keep its doors open." The two parties couldn't come to an agreement leaving Flagship Studios to sink and its corpse to be looted later.
