Bethesda faces a class action lawsuit over Fallout 4, and beware: it could delay its purchase by Microsoft

The plaintiffs seek to block the purchase of ZeniMax to preserve their capital until the trial ends.

Bethesda faces a collective lawsuit for Fallout 4 and its Season Pass. One, that it could affect Microsoft’s purchase of ZeniMax, depending on the court’s decision. As reported VentureBeat, the plaintiffs in the case seek block acquisition to preserve ZeniMax assets during the course of the case. As the company and its studios – including Bethesda – will become part of a Microsoft subsidiary, lawyers fear this move will allow them transfer your capital to avoid facing possible penalties.

Compensation could reach $ 1.1 billionThe demand itself, as mentioned above, has its origin in Fallout 4 and its Season Pass. Before the game’s premiere, Bethesda had promised players that the Season Pass would include all future DLC – announced or unannounced – that Bethesda was ever going to post for their game. However, in 2017 he announced his Creation Club, a collection of content for Fallout 4 and Skyrim that includes both third-party creations and Bethesda Game Studios itself, which Are not avaliables for pass holders.

The plaintiffs claim that the Creation Club content, mostly sourced from Bethesda, are in effect DLC of your game. And, therefore, the company has acted fraudulently by not including them with the Season Pass. The lawsuit, filed in July 2019, seeks charges against Bethesda for breach of contract, unfair enrichment, misleading advertising and fraud. Accusations that have been denied by Margaret Esquenet, Bethesda’s legal representative. Priced at $ 281 for the Creation Club content, the demand seek compensation for pack buyers for a total amount that could reach $ 1.1 billionsays VentureBeat.

And with such a figure at stake, the plaintiffs fear that ZeniMax takes advantage of its purchase by Microsoft to redistribute its assets, and leave behind a company like an empty shell without capital, that cannot afford compensation. “We have a great concern. Because in this class action lawsuit, the value of the penalty could be greater than the assets,” says attorney Filippo Marchino, of X-Law Group. “We find it curious that, suddenly, there are these rush to sell [la compañía]. That would liquidate the company, and prevent the millions in the lawsuit from getting their money back. “

Bethesda denied there was a purchase, and 2 months later they announced itIn fact, the firm asked Bethesda if they were involved in an offer to purchase just two months before it was announced the big news, to which the company responded that its alleged sale “is nothing more than speculation and suspicions.” That “you have not contributed no credible evidence of an imminent sale or transfer of assets, let alone anyone at Bethesda allegedly planning to commit fraud or dissipate assets. ” Two months after this refusal so bluntly, Microsoft announced the purchase of the company.

They want to block the purchase until after the trial, in 2022

That is why Marchino and his firm seek to block the Bethesda purchase until the case is concluded, with trial dated 2022, in order to prevent the company from transferring its assets and avoiding possible sanctions. “What we will do is ask the judge stop buying between Microsoft and Bethesda to preserve your assets. What is known as a motion for a preliminary injunction. “For his part, lawyer David Hoppe, who specializes in the video game sector, tells VentureBeat that he does not see possible a sanction” for billions of dollars as a result of content downloadable “.

And, given the importance of the ZeniMax purchase and the dates, he sees a very good chance that the case will be resolved with a settlement out of court. One in which, the attorney suggests, Bethesda opts for the simplest solution of offering Creation Club content to all those who purchased the pass. We will have to be very attentive to the evolution of the case and its possible effect on the purchase ZeniMax, in the event that the Judge approves the plaintiffs’ motion. And we remind you that Microsoft has already asked the EU for approval of the purchase, finishing off the last fringes before closing it in its entirety.

More on: Bethesda, Microsoft, ZeniMax, Xbox, Lawsuit, and Fallout 4.