DarkCryo Entertainment resurfaced last week after pulling down their Firefly Universe title at the behest of Fox last year. The developer returned with with “well wishes” from the Fox for an inspired title that is now being referred to as FUO. While the rights to use the Firefly IP have still not been secured, DarkCryo made plans to move forward with development after a chat with Fox legal to ensure that they didn’t impede on the IP while developing the now Firefly-inspired MMOG. This hasn’t ruled out a possible licensing deal in the future, but the plan was to continue development and kick off a new Kickstarter campaign in the future.

However, over the weekend, a new story from Kotaku surfaced that made allegations that the game might be a hoax due to the endorsement of the Yes Men, an activist group known for making their messages through rather elaborate pranks. Following what was an interesting few days, Kotaku today posted a new interview DarkCryo’s Craig Redl, who clarified that the game is in fact real and offered up more details about the developer’s exchange with Fox.

"During our conference calls we were essentially asking how close to the line we are allowed to tread and still maintain a positive, open comm link with Fox Legal. We've never received a C&D, and don't want one. We gave scenarios, and Fox Legal was generous enough to give us specifics on what they perceived to be derivative. So long as we maintain this fine line, Fox Legal stated that "of course" we can proceed, and that they "wish us well".

"When we stated 'well wishes', we were simply alleviating people's fear that - no matter what DarkCryo does—it will be 'shut down.' We know now how to avoid this scenario, and should no longer be an issue."

Redl also stated that the small development team at DarkCryo has already amassed a terabyte of game assets and shared a new screenshot with Kotaku. Kotaku also addressed the hoax statements from their previous article that have been the topic of much discussion over the last week.

With any luck we’ll get to see more of what the team over at DarkCryo has been working on sometime soon. For now, the planned FUO Kickstarter may be put on hold temporarily until some of the drama over the last week has subsided.

Source: Kotaku