A class action lawsuit was been filed against Aspyr Media and Saber Interactive by a group of Star Wars fans who are unhappy with the cancellation of the “Restored Content DLC” for the Nintendo Switch port of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 2. The DLC was supposed to restore cut content from the original game, but it was canceled in June 2023.
According to Axios, in a recent court filing, Aspyr Media’s co-CEO Ted Saloch has said that the DLC was canceled due to objections from a “third party.” However, the company has not disclosed who that third party is. This is the first time that Aspyr Media has publicly acknowledged that a third party was involved in the cancellation of the DLC. The company has previously said that the DLC was canceled due to “unforeseen circumstances.”
The plaintiffs in the lawsuit are arguing that Aspyr Media breached their contract with them by canceling the DLC. They are seeking damages, including the cost of the game and any other expenses they incurred as a result of the cancellation.
Aspyr Media has filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, arguing that they already provided relief to the plaintiffs by offering them a free copy of another Star Wars game. The company also claims that they are not legally obligated to provide refunds for free canceled Nintendo DLC.
A hearing on Aspyr Media’s motion to dismiss the case is set for the end of the month.
It is unclear who the “third party” is that objected to the release of the DLC. And even still, this isn’t a case of the DLC needing to be repaid, it was selling a game under the pretense that more would come to the consumer. Removing that promise later can be seen as false advertising, which makes the case a good one.
As long as you can return the game after the DLC was announced to not be coming, then it should be fine. However, that would cost a lot of money for Aspire because the players may have not liked it and will use it as a way to get a refund on their copy.
It’s up to the courts to decide if Aspyr actually did intend to give the advertised product prior to canceling and if this third party did have the power to stop them.
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