With the questionable launch dates of both Rollercoaster Tycoon World and Planet Coaster falling so close to each other, we boiled it down to a bit of shallow rivalry. But what if the issues run deeper between Atari and Frontier Developments? Because one is now suing the other.
Frontier Developments have a long history with building rollercoaster simulations these days. Having started with expansions to Atari's own Rollercoaster Tycoon 2, they later went on to head Rollercoaster Tycoon 3 and later build similar games like Thrillville, Coaster Crazy and Screamride before putting out Planet Coaster just a few short months ago.
Getting their start with Atari, things seemed off when the fallen publisher announced the revival of the Rollercoaster Tycoon series carrying a name all too similar to Frontier Developements' new project. And while Rollercoaster Tycoon World should have released long before Planet Coaster, a massive amount of negative feedback caused the game to land in Early Access alongside Frontier's own stab at their definitive coaster sim. With the eventual release of one coming just a day before the other, it was clear something bigger was going on behind the scenes.
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Now, just a few months after release, Frontier Developments are suing Atari for underpaid royalties relating to a long-standing contract with the publisher. Claiming Atari is actually bringing in more cash than they let on, Frontier is suing the former publishing giant for the rest of what they're owed. Claiming to have only received $1.17 million rather than $3.37 million, it'll soon be up to the courts to settle this one.
Cases like these usually go on for quite some time, but depending on how Atari views the $2.2 million Frontier believes they're still owed, it could simply come to a fast conclusion before going to court. Otherwise, we're likely in it for the long-haul.
