ClayFighter
Image: Interplay

Last Thursday, Tropical Turtles Entertainment, the developer of the ClayFighter fangame ClayFighter Resculpted, revealed that it had received a message from Interplay's legal department, in which the publisher expressed concerns about the team "using the ClayFighter name and representations of their characters without permission."

Now, though, the project has officially been served with a C&D and is responding to this by retooling the fangame into something wholly original.

According to the design document for the game, ClayFighter Resculpted started development in 2023 and was intended to act as a revival of the ClayFighter series of fighting games (the last ClayFighter release was the Blockbuster-exclusive Scultpor's Cut released as a rental all the way back in 1998). It was being built in Unity with the Universal Fighting Game engine and was set to feature an art style that was inspired by the rudimentary claymation of the original games.

Tropical Turtles Entertainment has been sharing some updates on its progress over on Twitter ever since the project began. But now Interplay has stepped in to shut down the project, leading the team to try to salvage the work into an original fighting game instead.

In a message on its Discord (which has since been reposted on Twitter), the ClayFighter ReSculpted developer Windindi posted the following update, alerting the game's supporters to this upcoming change:

"I have made a major decision regarding our future, as I am complying with the C&D given to me by Interplay. However, after seeking much praise, attention, and recommendations from all of you, I have decided to continue developing a original fighting game separate from the fan concept prior, but keeping certain elements inspired by the original project. I can understand if this upsets some of you, but it is the course of action I feel is appropriate for myself and everyone who were looking forward to what I had to offer. I hope you are still looking forward to what we make, and I ask that you stay tuned! It'll be a while, but I hope you stick around for what we have to offer. With much love and thanks."

This news will obviously be frustrating for those among you who are fans of the retro fighting game series, as Interplay has failed to release a sequel to Sculptor's Cut over the last two decades.

In 2009, it announced a Nintendo DSi and Wii game ClayFighter: Call of Putty, which was cancelled before release. This was then followed by a potential remaster scheduled for 2016, which also failed to see the light of day. In place of an official continuation, a community of dedicated fan creators has stepped up to try and satisfy the demand for a sequel or remaster. But this latest announcement may likely give these developers a reason to pause.

[source twitter.com]