We’ve been following the saga of the ArcheAge lawsuit for what seems like ages now. Back in 2015, three gamers filed a class action lawsuit against the MMO company, alleging that then-Western-publisher Trion Worlds violated consumer laws, falsely advertised a 10% founder perk discount for its cash shop, and broke California’s illegal-lottery law in regard to ArcheAge. The lawsuit dragged on for years as Trion sought to force the case into arbitration and then imploded as a company in 2018, offloading all of its assets, including its MMOs, directly to Gamigo and a subsidiary created to house former US-based Trion employees. Then there was a tussle over Trion’s assets and a tentative agreement in 2019.
Now it looks as if we’re finally seeing the fruits of that agreement, as multiple MOP readers forwarded us emails being sent around to ArcheAge players, sending them to the plaintiffs’ attorneys’ official claims website and outlining both the suit and the terms.
“An insurer for Trion Worlds, the maker of ArcheAge, has agreed to establish a settlement fund of $420,000 from which eligible players may make a claim for a cash payment. The fund will also be used to pay settlement administration expenses, court-awarded service awards, and court-awarded attorneys’ fees and expenses. The settlement resolves a lawsuit over whether Trion violated California’s Consumers Legal Remedies Act, False Advertising Law, and Unfair Competition law, or made negligent misrepresentations when it failed to provide a 10% discount on ArcheAge Marketplace purchases to U.S. players who bought patron status before the game’s U.S. launch and when it sold supply crates in the ArcheAge Marketplace that gave U.S. players a chance to win virtual items of varying value.”
You might be entitled to a sliver of the settlement if you bought supply crates before October 22nd, 2018, or subbed to the Patron program prior to launch and bought something in the market before that same date while a Patron. You can also do nothing or opt out or even argue with the settlement. Deadline for claims is set for March 13th, 2020. The amount of money you may be entitled to will apparently be determined based on how many other players make claims and how much you spent. Don’t do that thing internet denizens do and lie on the forms. Not a good idea.
Read up on the whole saga:
