A video game adaptation of the popular TV show Archer sparked a legal fight between two companies that were working on it, and their disagreement made it all the way to the BC Supreme Court.
The case examines a deteriorating relationship between two video game firms, one based in Vancouver and the other based in Oregon. It involves a breach of copyright allegations, allegations that a contract was wrongfully terminated, and allegations that one company didn’t cooperate with the spirit of their agreement.
Archer: Danger Phone was eventually launched and is available for download on both Apple and Android devices. According to the BC Supreme Court decision, it generates approximately $20,000 per month in royalty payments.
However, the intractable relationship between the two companies meant that two other games in the works had to be scrapped. They were supposed to be called Trailer Park Boys: Merge and Bud Master.
The case surfaced phone calls, emails, and Slack messages between employees of Vancouver-based Truly Social Games and Oregon-based East Side Games Group.
The relationship began and then fell out between 2020 and 2023. The BC Supreme Court judge examined whether the issue should proceed to trial and the security costs of the issue.
Archer, the animated spy TV show, ran from 2009 to 2023.