Austrian court rules in favour of JoWooD

A Vienna court has rejected a petition by Australian developer Perception to have publisher JoWooD declared bankrupt after a series of disputes between the two companies.

Last month, Perception was pulled off PC and console title Stargate SG-1: The Alliance after the Austria-based publisher claimed work done so far failed to meet the required standards.

In response, Perception accused the publisher of issuing "misleading and libellous statements" and filed its petition.

But the action has been rejected by Austria's Landesgericht Leoben (superior court) and, according to a statement on JoWooD's website, "The court order also states that Perception itself has admitted that the delay of the game delivery was also caused by the failure of Perception although JoWooD has already paid the undisputable amount of EUR 5.5 million."

"JoWooD will now continue its successful way of restructuring the company," the statement concludes.

Stargate SG-1: The Alliance was due to be published on PC, PS2 and Xbox this autumn, but the future of the title is now in doubt with both JoWooD and Perception claiming ownership of the license. The developer has stated that work is still going ahead on the game.