There are bound to be game journalists cheering and jeering from the digital sidelines as the original creators of Star Control managed to get Stardock’s Star Control: Origins pulled from GOG.com and Steam via a DMCA. Why would journalists be happy? Because they’ve had a tiny hard-on against the CEO of Stardock, Brad Wardell, ever since he came out against them during the great #GamerGate war (technically it started before that, but that’s another story for another time).
Wardell doesn’t lean Left and he doesn’t abide by the ridiculous Intersectional Inquisition’s ever-changing rules of sociopolitical engagement. These same journalists also threw a hissy fit when Wardell hired in Right-wing actor Adam Baldwin to a voice a character in Star Control: Origins. It was probably extra salt on the wound of the game journos knowing that Baldwin was the one who coined the hashtag #GamerGate and got the ball rolling for exposing the gaming media’s laundry list of corruption.
Nevertheless, having Star Control: Origins pulled from Steam and GOG is a setback that Stardock is taking in stride as they deal with a legal battle involving the original creators of Star Control as they fight over the intellectual property rights for the action-RPG. Instead of letting the game fall by the wayside during the litigious firefight, the developers have a direct purchase option available on the official Stardock website, offering a 50% off sale on the game, as announced by Brad Wardell via a tweet on January 2nd, 2019.
Stardock has set up a direct purchase option for Star Control: Origins and it’s on sale for 50% off to encourage buyers. https://t.co/CyMVpiQX4B pic.twitter.com/00IVZNv2pE
— Brad Wardell (@draginol) January 2, 2019
This is an alternative method for Stardock to sell Star Control: Origins in the interim while the DMCA is still in effect at Steam and GOG and any other third-party digital distributor attempting to sell the game.
This is all part of the ongoing fallout from the legal throwdown taking place between Stardock and the original creators of the Star Control IP, Paul Reiche III and Fred Ford.
There’s a lengthy but 44 minute video from lawyer Leonard French posted on his Lawful Masses With Leonard French YouTube channel where he discusses the intricacies and minutiae of the DMCA, the lawsuit involving the Star Control IP, and the potential outcomes.
Keep in mind that the lawsuit is still ongoing, and the only real losers in all of this are gamers who may have been interested in purchasing a copy of Star Control: Origins from Steam or GOG but are now prohibited from doing so due to the DMCA.
If you don’t mind purchasing games directly from the developer, such as Stardock’s digital storefront, you can pick up a copy of Star Control: Origins from there.
(Thanks for the news tip Tenebrae and Phasmatis75)
