The studio sued by Square Enix for allegedly using assets created under a now-void licensing agreement has publicly acknowledged the lawsuit and started swapping out some of the offending content from its game, a little more than a week after the news broke on Polygon. Metal Storm developer, HK Ten Tree, apologized to players in a statement posted to the game’s official website on March 27 and said it is taking steps to reach an “amicable resolution” with Square Enix.
Square Enix’s lawsuit claims HK Ten Tree was granted license to develop a new game in the long-running Front Mission mecha franchise, Front Mission 2089: Borderscape, before the agreement was eventually terminated in 2022. Two years later, HK Ten Tree released Metal Storm (known as Mecharashi in the west) on mobile platforms in Japan and China, which Square Enix argues was “developed using materials created pursuant” to the expired Front Mission licensing agreement.
The lawsuit also includes several compelling comparison shots of the offending assets allegedly shared between Front Mission 2089: Borderscape and Metal Storm, some of which HK Ten Tree has seemingly started removing from its game since Square Enix’s complaints went public.
Square Enix previously used DMCA requests to remove Metal Storm from Steam in the United States, but a counter-claim saw it reinstated. Square Enix now asks the courts for an injunction to keep it from being released until the offending assets are removed, as well as asking that the publisher be paid $150,000 USD per infringement.
