Publisher takes swipe at StarCraft II game mod

Activision has lashed out at a fan-made massive multiplayer online (MMO) game in development called World of StarCraft. YouTube has removed a video of the game mod's work in progress after the StarCraft II publisher claimed the clip infringed its copyright.

The MMO was being produced with official Starcraft II editing tools which are comprehensive enough to create games in genres other than the title's real-time strategy (RTS) approach.

WoS lead modder Ryan had a little rant on his forum and posted the removal notice sent from YouTube, together with a link to Blizzard's copyright policies.

Ryan argues he wasn't violating anything. Quite the reverse, in fact: "You [Blizzard] created a tool that allowed us to do anything with your assets… You encouraged us to use your assets and were eager to see what we might come up with. You had to have seen this coming."

Activision own Blizzard Entertainment, the developer that created StarCraft II.

Perhaps Activision's issue is the title, rather than the project itself. It hasn't yet explained its actions. Meanwhile, WoS development will still go ahead, but a name change is almost certainly on the cards. Good bit of publicity, though - Ryan and co. can't complain too much. ®