Official statement

To our community and to Stargate fans who have been following us for so many years now.
Stargate Network will not return.

It has now been more than a year that our game is not available anymore and that we have reduced our activity online. A worrying trend for some and intriguing for others. In spite of the passing of time, you are all still numerous to ask us about the reasons for our silence and when will the game come back.

It is first and foremost thanks to you and your support that this project got to exist. That is why we believe it is natural and legitimate, after all this time, to keep you in the loop regarding the situation.

As a reminder, Stargate Network is a video game based on the Stargate franchise developed voluntarily and freely by fans, for fans. We have always made clear that we were not official nor approved.

Since the latest public release of SGN on Unreal Engine 4 in 2018, many of you across the world enjoyed this technical demo and suggested that we should get in touch with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (MGM) to get it greenlit as an official product. The further we went in the game’s development, the likelier its quality and fidelity could be assimilated to a professional production.
We were aware this could eventually lead to a major copyright issue. It was now vital to contact MGM in an effort to sort out our situation. We tried to contact them through multiple channels from 2018 to 2021. Unfortunately, without success.

In June 2021, shortly after the announcement of an official Stargate game, we received a cease and desist letter from MGM’s lawyers asking us to stop developing and sharing our game.
Thanks to our lawyers and the support of people who worked on the original show, we were able to come forward with our willingness to obtain the rights to the IP.

A few months of very cordial exchanges and meetings with MGM followed. We are obviously not able to be more precise about the content or results of these meetings for obvious confidentiality matters (NDA) but we thank MGM for their genuine interest in our project.

On this occasion, our team founded a development studio called “Icy Skip”, a necessary step for a potential partnership with MGM that will also serve for other projects.

However, the recent acquisition of MGM by Amazon initiated a transitional period - the implications of which on both MGM and the Stargate franchise are totally unknown to us - putting an end to our discussions. We would have preferred to announce a new version including all the additional content already developed, but unfortunately that will not be the case. Development is stopped.
Be assured that we have done everything in our power to make Stargate Network come back. The only thing to do now is be patient and see what Amazon decides to make of the Stargate franchise.

Finally, it is with considerable emotion that we would like to thank every person who ever took part in this project, no matter how small or big the contribution, from the most ancient to the most recent ones.
We would also like to thank everybody who supported and followed us during all these years, with special consideration for the many Stargate associations and fan groups that we got to meet at the many conventions we attended.

From the bottom of our hearts, thank you everyone, it has been a long and beautiful journey in your company.

 

“Will I see you again?”
“All roads eventually lead to the great path. Many cross on the way.”

 

The Stargate Network team
   -   henceforth Icy Skip.