The company tinyBuild has decided to take legal action against Max Ent Games (formerly Merge Games). The reason for the dispute is the royalties from the sales of the survival game about miniature people, Smalland: Survive the Wilds.
Smalland: Survive the Wilds
In the lawsuit, tinyBuild claimed that Max Ent Games did not pay all the due royalties. Furthermore, the developers allegedly acknowledge the issue, but the parties cannot agree on the royalty amount. According to tinyBuild's calculations, the debt has reached $1.9 million to date, whereas Max Ent Games apparently assessed it at a lower amount.
The exact relationship between tinyBuild and Smalland: Survive the Wilds is unknown. It's possible that they were involved in the development of the game or co-financed it, but this information is not disclosed in the public records of the case.
Representatives of Max Ent Games, as well as its parent company Maximum Entertainment, have not commented on the lawsuit.
Smalland: Survive the Wilds was released in early access in March 2023, and reached full release in February 2024. Currently, Max Ent Games is working on a prequel to the game—Smalland 2: Lost Realms, which is expected to debut by the end of the year.