It’s easy to forget that Square Enix is far more than the Final Fantasy company, but once upon a time they did expand their horizons, after Final Fantasy’s success, to see what other kinds of games they could excel in. One old favorite franchise is Front Mission, a series of tactical strategy games revolving around giant mechs.
Square Enix recently set about to remake and rerelease the 1st three Front Mission games that originally released on the PlayStation, to modern platforms. While this raised speculation that Square Enix might be making a new Front Mission title, today we found out about one such project, in the worst of circumstances.
As reported by Video Games Chronicle, Square Enix is suing Japanese mobile game developer BlackJack studio for their new mech tactical strategy game, Metal Storm.
Square Enix alleges in their lawsuit that BlackJack “deliberately and intentionally copied protectable expression from the Licensed Game in Metal Storm, including but not limited to mecha designs, characters, game mechanics, and other creative elements” from Front Mission. They’re also looking for $ 150,000 for each proven case of infringement.
Now, you may wonder, at this point, if this is overreach on Square Enix’s part. Video game companies can’t just sue each other for having similar games, right? Didn’t Capcom fail to sue Data East for making their fighting games?
But in this case, there’s more to the story. Square Enix originally hired BlackJack to make a new Front Mission game, called Front Mission 2089: Borderscape. Square Enix ultimately decided to cancel this new title, by October 2022. However, BlackJack allegedly used the assets they made for Front Mission 2089: Borderscape, and used them for Metal Storm.
Notably, Square Enix is filing this lawsuit, not in Japan, but in the US. This action is intended to block BlackJack from bringing Metal Storm to the US.
With all the claims that Square Enix provided, we aren’t 100 % certain if the case is a valid one. While Square Enix seems to have evidence to prove their allegations, a US judge or jury will have to decide on the particular merits of Square Enix’s copyright infringement claims in court.
But it’s a somewhat heartbreaking revelation for Front Mission fans. We are now left wondering why this game got cancelled, and if Square Enix has a future planned for the Front Mission franchise. Maybe it’s a matter of finding a new studio, but depending on how this case plays out, Square Enix may not be able to touch the franchise for years, and this time not out of neglect.
