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Publisher Atlus has taken the somewhat brutish step of filing suit against a party of Shin Megami Tensei fans who allegedly created an unofficial server for the now-defunctSMTMMO,Imagine. In related news, a fan server, titled “ReImagine” has been operating since 2020, but has now, understandably, been taken offline. The suit wasinitially spotted by Twitter user“Marsh”.
According to the lawsuit, (viewable here at CourtListener) Atlus is seeking around $25,000 per copyright violation, citing the “irreparable damage” that theShin Megami Tensei: Imaginerecreation has caused to the publisher. The defendants are identified “Rekuiemu” and “COMP_Hack” which the suit alleges are responsible for the creation of the unofficial MMO, its engine, and its front end. The suit also alleges that Rekuiemu attempted to pass off the game as their own creation, “copyrighting” the new build and attempting to profit through both its distribution and its in-game activities.
As reported by VGC, a swiftly removed message on theReImagineDiscord saw a mod stated that it was a “competitor” that was served the lawsuit, and notReImagineitself. But, fearing further reprisal, theReImagineteam has chosen to shut down theReImagineservers and website to protect its developers. The lawsuit itself only refers to the defendants, and does not explicitly reference “ReImagine“. The veracity of this statement cannot be clarified, and theReImaginesite isno longer operational.
ReImaginewas, in essence, a full replication of theShin Megami Tensei: Imagineclient, which first launched in Japan way back in 2007, butwas eventually taken offline in 2016, following the closure of developer Marvelous’ PC department. TheReImagineserver featured the worlds, characters, and U.I. of the original MMO.
While this is not the first example of a defunct MMO being recreated and ultimately shut down by its official publisher, often it is merely a case of a simple Cease & Desist order, rather than the full-blown serving of a lawsuit, whisking users off to the courtroom to face a string of five-figure fines. Ultimately, the alleged money-making here is probably the deciding factor that led the publisher to immediately settle the matter on stringent legal grounds
