Evil Genius Games Sues Netflix for Breach of Contract Over ‘Rebel Moon’ Tie-In RPG
Yesterday Evil Genius Games, publishers of the Pacific Rim RPG and others, filed suit against Netflix over a Rebel Moon tie-in RPG.
Controversy comes once again to the RPG scene as Evil Genius Games filed suit against Netflix yesterday. The suit alleges a Breach of Contract after the company was hired to create a massive tie-in RPG for the upcoming Zack Snyder sci-fi movie, Rebel Moon. Stating that the contract was terminated unceremoniously, Evil Genius Games hopes to see their game released.
If you’re wondering who Evil Genius is, they’re a venture capitalist-funded RPG studio that primarily does work with licensed IP. To date, they’re the publisher responsible for officially licensed RPGs for The Crow, Escape From New York, Pacific Rim, Rambo, and more to come. This is their sandbox, they make movie tie-in games, so it’s little wonder Netflix would work with them.
Evil Genius Sues Netflix
According to a statement from Evil Genius Games, which has a webpage about the lawsuit and the current situation, they had produced a World Bible, as well as two massive books that are ready to release:
In early 2023, Evil Genius Games began working with Netflix and the acclaimed director Zack Snyder on developing a Rebel Moon TTRPG. We signed an official agreement with Netflix on March 22, 2023, to create the game and RPG-related materials, promising a finished game to coincide with the film’s release on December 22, 2023.
By May, we had produced a 228-page World Bible (which vastly expanded on the universe envisioned by Snyder), a 430-page Player’s Guide, and a 337-page Game Master’s Guide. As of today, the game is ready to be released and enjoyed by fans worldwide. And it’s AMAZING!
Unfortunately, after delivering this unbelievable world and tabletop role-playing game to Netflix, it canceled the contract and is asserting the IP we created, along with the entire game, now belongs to it. Netflix also refused to compensate us fairly for our work.
According to Evil Genius, Netflix has canceled the contract over a breach of confidentiality, which may have occurred during a presentation at the GAMA trade show (a presentation alongside Netflix employees), as well as an accidental release of non-final, teaser cover images in May.
Evil Genius goes on to claim that Netflix has said the World Bible, which expands the setting of Rebel Moon beyond the pages of the script, “belongs solely and exclusively to Netflix.”
According to a press release accompanying the lawsuit, Evil Genius wants to see the game released:
“Our aim is to ensure our team is recognized for their fantastic work, and that we can release this game for millions of TTRPG enthusiasts to enjoy. It’s disheartening to see Netflix backpedal on content that was jointly showcased and had received their prior consent. We urge our supporters to contact Netflix and Zack Snyder to push for the release of this game.’’
More on the story, as it develops.
