Thanks to a cease-and-desist letter accusing it of "cavalier disregard for copyright law," plans to revive the still-dead asymmetrical survival joint Friday the 13th: The Game were scuttled just days after its announcement.

The axe first fell on "Friday the 13th: The Game" in 2018, thanks to a legal dispute over ownership that halted the game's development. From there it was a slow crawl into a dark lair, with the metaphorical monster looming just behind: the project was shut down permanently shortly after the legal issues began, the dedicated servers were shut down in 2020, and the game itself was to remain up and running until "at least" December 31, 2024 Although the game was set up, it was removed from sale at the end of 2023, when the ownership license expired.

It was a shame, because despite some shenanigans and server problems, we liked "Friday the 13th" quite a bit. (After all, comedy is a big part of these things. Look at the success of "Content Warning" for proof.)

Anyway, it's a sad situation, but these things happen. However, on April 1, Friday the 13th: The Game - Resurrected announced its existence via Twitter, revealing an April 15 release date and key art.

According to BloodyDisgusting, the mod makers have been assured that all of the base game will be included in Resurrected, including content that did not make it to the official release, that more content will be added in post-launch updates, and that this is where things get really The tricky part is that "you don't need the base game to enjoy the mods. The download is available on our discord server.

The timing of this is probably suspect: after all, April 1 is the perfect day for tomfoolery. The announcement, however, appeared to be a serious one. But just a week later, it all hit a wall in the form of a cease and desist letter sent on behalf of the copyright owner, Horror, Inc.

"You will not dispute that we know that your conduct is unauthorized and illegal," the letter reads. Indeed, many users on your Discord have pointed out that distributing this game without a license is a clear violation of copyright. These warnings are correct, and your cavalier disregard for copyright law makes you liable for willful infringement. Among other remedies, Horror is entitled to seek statutory damages of $150,000 per infringement"

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The mod team was told that if they wanted to dodge that particular bullet, they would have to pull the plug on the whole thing, and understandably so: in a message posted on Twitter, the developers said that "the project is likely over" and that they are currently working on removing all infringing content, stating that they are working on removing it.

"It is unfortunate that someone wants to fight a fan-made project that is not profitable," the Resurrected team wrote. There was never any intent to "harm the brand," as Horror Inc. claims. Not only has the project ended, but the franchise itself has ended. Horror Inc. seems to want this great series to be a thing of the past and forgotten."

While the obvious frustration with the outcome is understandable, it is also not entirely surprising. The infringement in this case is clear: in effect, offering the full game for free is an almost egregious disregard for IP rights. There was no question that swift and decisive action would be taken, especially in this case: after all, a legal dispute over ownership rights was the first fatality of Friday the 13th: The Game.

A representative from the mod team told PC Gamer that the project had been in development for about a year before the planned release date was announced, that seven people had been involved in its development, and that efforts to get approval to release the mod were denied.

"We asked if we had a chance to get the right to continue the project and were basically told no." We will probably move on from Friday the 13th and continue with some other projects we have planned." The rep said. The team is also considering working with Bloody Pitchfork Games on "more awesome projects."

Since receiving the letter, Resurrected's Twitter account has been deleted (although another account called GameResurrected is still open), and the f13-resurrected.com website is "The site is currently down " The page is blank with the message "The site is currently down.