Bethesda Settles ‘Fallout’ Lawsuit. They Own The Entire Wasteland.

Praise whatever Myth you dig, Bethesda has settled the lawsuit between Interplay and themselves over the rights to Fallout. The glory! The glory! There shant be a Fallout MMO designed by Interplay.

I Heart Chaos:

Over two years later, the legal battle between Bethesda and Interplay over the rights to Fallout is over, with Bethesda emerging the victor, reclaiming the rights to the name and the Fallout series. Interplay did come away with $2 million in compensation, but that probably only really covers their legal fees at this point.

According to a press release describing the settlement, the “license granted to Interplay to develop a Fallout MMO is null and void.” Further, all rights first granted to Interplay are now reverted back to Bethesda, effective today.  

Additionally, under the terms of the settlement, Interplay has no right to use the Fallout brand or any related intellectual property for future development. Further, Zenimax said it will pay Interplay $2 million as “consideration” in the settlement.  

Lastly, the terms of the settlement note that Interplay is permitted to continue selling Fallout Tactics, Fallout, and Fallout 2 through December 2013. After that time, all rights to market those titles fall back to Bethesda.  

Speaking about the end of the litigation, ZeniMax chairman and CEO Robert Altman said he is satisfied with the resolution.  

“While we strongly believe in the merits of our suits, we are pleased to avoid the distraction and expense of litigation while completely resolving all claims to the Fallout IP. Fallout is an important property of ZeniMax and we are now able to develop future Fallout titles for our fans without third party involvement or the overhang of others’ legal claims.”

Fantastic. Fallout 3 is one of the core titles of this generation for me, and I love Bethesda now having their tendrils around the franchise. Should there be something as wonderful as a Fallout MMO, let them be at the helm of it. Not Interplay. Or Gods Forbid, Obsidian.