Saber has subsequently filed a defamation claim in relation to Oovee’s allegations, Eurogamer can also reveal, while Spintires’ Steam page is now back offline pending various DMCA challenges.
Speaking to Eurogamer, Saber suggested the coder had only received under half of what he, Spintires’ sole creator, was originally owed.
Spintires was a breakout success that netted Oovee millions in sales, though questions were subsequently raised around how much Pavel had been paid.
The rights to Steam hit Spintires – as well as the fate of millions of dollars in revenue for spin-off sequels Mudrunner and Snowrunner – are the focus of several major legal claims between Saber Interactive and the game’s original publisher Oovee, Eurogamer can reveal.