CD Projekt RED Sued Over The Witcher 2’s DRM Removal

Not only is Namco Bandai claiming that CD Projekt RED removed the DRM from The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings without permission, but they’re also unhappy about THQ being named the publisher of the Xbox 360 version in Europe. So much so that they’re withholding nearly $2 million in payments due to CDP, and suing them for what might result in further financial penalties. Giant Bomb reports:

When THQ announced it had obtained the European publishing rights to The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings for Xbox 360, that apparently surprised Namco Bandai, who had signed a distribution deal with developer CD Projekt Red for the European release of the PC version.

Atari will be publishing The Witcher II on Xbox 360 here in the US. Complicating matters, Atari Europe was acquired by Namco Bandai in 2009, gobbling up Atari’s European distribution.

Namco Bandai is also arguing CD Projekt Red broke its contract with Namco Bandai by removing DRM from the PC version of the game without its permission.

Naturally, Optimus and CD Projekt Red believe both are in the clear.

“Namco’s claims are unfounded,” reads the statement.

As a consequence of the lawsuit, Namco Bandai is withholding payments of 1,225,000 Euros (roughly $1.75 million dollars).

“In the opinion of the [Optimus] management board, Namco consequently claim the desire to continue cooperation in the distribution [of] CDP RED products after the recent release of games released on PC, due to the expected potential sales of this title for console Xbox 360,” concluded the company. (Also, I blame Google Translate for the awkward phrasing.)

I’m not sure what to make of this. Even though DRM is universally hated by gamers, if CD Projekt RED really removed it without permission, then I suppose Namco Bandai has every right to be angry.  Then again, it would be hard to make the argument that it negatively impacted sales.