Developer Drops Tolkien Game Suit
Staff Reporter

April 27 — J.R.R. Tolkien fans looking forward to playing the upcoming online role-playing game based on his Middle Earth characters can get their joysticks warmed with the news that a lawsuit between the game’s producer and developer disappeared less than a week after it was filed.

MM3D announced Thursday that it withdrew its $10 million lawsuit against Sierra On-Line. “MM3D is happy to announce that we are dismissing the lawsuit (without prejudice) on 04/26/01. We are grateful to Sierra for their good faith and for the efforts they are taking to resolve this matter,” MM3D said in a statement posted to its Web site.

MM3D sued Sierra in Los Angeles Superior Court on April 20, claiming it breached a contract to create what is being called “Tolkien Online RPG” by attempting to force developer MM3D to accept diminished terms and 50 percent cut in revenue from the project. Plans for the game had been kept secret until the suit revealed the troubled negotiation.