ESA member Epic Games speaks out against SOPA [Update: So do 38 Studios and Trion]

Epic Games, developer of the Gears of War series and member of the Entertainment Software Association, last night came out against the proposed "Stop Online Piracy Act" (SOPA).

"We do not support the current version of SOPA," Epic Games senior PR manager Dana Cowley wrote in a public letter posted to the North Carolina company's forums. "We are members of the Entertainment Software Association (ESA), a trade organization that is working with legislators to refine the bill," she said, referring to the ESA's letter of support for the proposed legislation released earlier this week.

She added, "Epic Games supports efforts that would stop overseas websites profiting from pirating our games, but we have to do that in a way that's compatible with freedom of speech and due process of law."

Epic is the first member of the ESA - the political lobbying arm of the game industry - to speak out against SOPA, but we suspect it won't be the last. We've dropped a list of remaining ESA members after the break who have yet to rescind support for the proposed legislation.

Update: 38 Studios is also against SOPA, writing on its Facebook wall, "Based on the SOPA bill's current structure, 38 Studios believes that the bill requires further restructuring and review to ensure it both preserves rights and protects intellectual properties. Please know that we take this issue very seriously," as spotted by Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Trion also has come out against the proposed legislation, writing on its forums, "We definitely do not support SOPA. We'll be calling the ESA about this after the holiday weekend."

• 38 Studios

• 345 Games

• 505 Games

• Capcom USA, Inc.

• Deep Silver

• Disney Interactive Studios, Inc.

• Eidos Interactive

• Electronic Arts

• Epic Games, Inc.

• Her Interactive, Inc.

• Ignition Entertainment

• Konami Digital Entertainment

• LEVEL-5 Inc.

• Microsoft Corporation

• Namco Bandai Games America Inc.

• Natsume Inc.

• Nexon America, Inc.

• Nintendo of America Inc.

• Nival

• NVIDIA

• O-Games, Inc.

• Perfect World Entertainment

• SEGA of America, Inc.

• Slang

• Sony Computer Entertainment America

• Sony Online Entertainment, Inc.

• Square Enix, Inc.

• Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc.

• Tecmo Koei America Corporation

• THQ, Inc.

• Trion Worlds, Inc.

• Ubisoft Entertainment, Inc.

• Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment Inc.

• XSEED Games