NCsoft reports that it has settled all legal claims with Marvel Entertainment, allowing its popular comic-inspired massively multiplayer online role-playing games to continue operations unfettered and avoiding a court decision with potentially wide-reaching implications.
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AUSTIN, Texas, December 14, 2005?Marvel Entertainment, Inc., NCsoft?Corporation, NC Interactive, Inc. and Cryptic Studios? Inc. are pleased to announce today that they have amicably settled all claims brought by Marvel and all claims brought by NCsoft, NC Interactive, Inc. and Cryptic Studios, Inc.

The parties¡® settlement allows them all to continue to develop and sell exciting and innovative products, but does not reduce the players¡® ability to express their creativity in making and playing original and exciting characters. Therefore, no changes to City of Heroes?or City of Villains¡®?/em> character creation engine are part of the settlement. The parties have agreed that protecting intellectual property rights is critically important and each will continue aggressively to protect such rights in accordance with all applicable laws. While the terms of the settlement were not disclosed, all parties agree that this case was never about monetary issues and that the fans of their respective products and characters are the winners in this settlement.