SEOUL, South Korea, Dec. 9, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- GRAVITY, Co., Ltd. (Nasdaq:GRVY) ("Gravity" or "Company"), an online game developer and publisher based in South Korea, today announced that Softstar Entertainment Inc. ("Softstar"), a Taiwanese online game developer and publisher, and the Company have reached a settlement in the lawsuit pending in the High Court of the Republic of Singapore.
Under the deed of settlement, Gravity agreed to pay US$ 2 million to Softstar. The Company reflected accrual for the settlement of KRW 1,676 million, the balance after deducting the license fee paid by Softstar in 2005, in its financial result for the third quarter ended September 30, 2009. As a part of the settlement, the Company and Softstar have mutually agreed to cease all the claims and counterclaims against each other. The parties also have agreed not to bring any further actions against each other as regards to the matters.
In October 2006, Softstar, Gravity's former licensee in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao for R.O.S.E. Online (the "Game") filed a lawsuit against the Company insisting that the game program for the open beta testing of the Game in Taiwan which was provided by the Company was different from the program used for the closed beta testing and was materially deficient, thereby causing them to incur a loss in their business. The license agreement with Softstar, which was entered in February 2005, was terminated by the plaintiff in December 2005 and the open beta testing of the Game in Taiwan was terminated in March 2006. The Company counterclaimed in October 2007 against Softstar for breach of the license agreement as Softstar unilaterally postponed and eventually cancelled the commercial launch of the Game in Taiwan though the parties mutually agreed to commercially launch the Game on August 2, 2005.
The Company has denied and continues to deny any and all allegations of wrongdoing in connection with this case, but believes that given the uncertainties and costs associated with the lawsuit, the settlement is in the best interests of the Company and its shareholders.
About GRAVITY Co., Ltd.
Based in Korea, Gravity is a developer and publisher of online games. Gravity's principal product, Ragnarok Online(TM), is a popular online game in many markets, including Japan, Taiwan and Thailand, and is currently commercially offered in 38 markets. For more information about Gravity, please visit http://www.gravity.co.kr.
Forward-Looking Statements:
Certain statements in this press release may include, in addition to historical information, "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the "safe-harbor" provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act 1995. Forward-looking statements can generally be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology, such as "may," "will," "expect," "intend," "estimate," "anticipate," "believe" "project," or "continue" or the negative thereof or other similar words, although not all forward-looking statements contain these words. Investors should consider the information contained in our submissions and filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"), including our registration statement on Form F-1, as amended, and our annual reports on Form 20-F, together with such other documents and we may submit to or file with the SEC from time to time, on Form 6-K. The forward-looking statements speak only as of this press release and we assume no duty to update them to reflect new, changing or unanticipated events or circumstances.
This release can also be viewed at http://www.pressreleasenetwork.com/newsroom.