The future of
Def Jam Rapstar studio 4mm Games is uncertain, as co-founder Jamie King has admitted that the ongoing legal problems with record label giant EMI means he can't find any more funding.
Def Jam Rapstar was released at the end of 2010, and invites players to rap along with popular songs. Earlier this year,
EMI filed a lawsuit in a New York federal court against 4mm Games and developer Terminal Reality, claiming that the companies did not acquire the rights for a number of songs used in the game.
Talking to GI.biz,
King has now said that the drawn-out dispute means that 4mm cannot bring in any funding for future games, and as a result, the rest of the team has moved on to work elsewhere.
"We have not got any new funding and obviously we need to resolve everything with
Rapstar," he noted. "I get very annoyed at times, I would like there to be a way out of it but I don't know if that's going to happen."
4mm has worked on a number of different games since the release of
Def Jam Rapstar, including a sequel to the original which hasn't seen the light of day. It released a Facebook game called
Dog Show Friends, and was also working on a browser game for the Alliance of Action Sports, although the game was later canceled.
