GSC Game World, the company that developed the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. game series, has successfully blocked the GitHub repository of the OpenXRay open project, which replicates the game engine for the earlier parts of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. The project was established following a leak of the original S.T.A.L.K.E.R. engine source code and aims to fix all of the original shortcomings while introducing new features such as support for 64-bit platforms, Linux, and OpenGL.
The licensed status of the OpenXRay development has always been in question, but by now, a sort of status quo has established itself, where GSC was aware of the project but did not hinder its development (using OpenXRay requires game resources from S.T.A.L.K.E.R., which can be obtained by purchasing the original game).
Now the situation has apparently changed, and GSC has sent a request to GitHub for its blockage based on the applicable U.S. Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). The request, sent on behalf of the 'Anti-Piracy Protection' division acting in the interests of GSC, states that the OpenXRay project infringes on GSC's rights, which holds the exclusive rights to the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. game.
Specifically, it is mentioned that the repository contains materials obtained through reverse engineering of the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. game, which violates the terms of use. The engine also bypasses access protection mechanisms for game resources, such as compression, encryption, and storage in special containers. It also mentions the use of source texts that were not publicly released (there was a code leak of the engine), as well as the use of graphical and sound data without obtaining written permission from the owner.
Addition: An official message from GSC's Twitter stated that the blockage was not initiated by GSC and that the request sent is false. GSC endorses the OpenXRay project and permits its use for mods.
Source: opennet.ru
