The five year fan project Crimson Echoes has been ruined following a Cease and Desist letter. The painstaking developmental efforts of the team have amounted to absolutely nothing as the lawyers of Square Enix killed it in one fell swoop. The game, which was nearing completion with 35 hours game time and an abundance of alternative endings will never see completion.

Sources suggest that the hacking of the original Chrono Trigger ROM file was the main cause of concern for the Final Fantasy team on the grounds that the imagery in Crimson Echoes was stolen from the official title.

The C&D letter, can be seen here. In brief, Square Enix have highlighted the fan projects deliberate copyright infringement and hinted in no uncertain terms that they will not allow it to happen. They go on to state that “the damages for wilful copyright infringement are up to $150,000”.

This is tragic news indeed, and must be heartbreaking for the team who dedicated 5 years to the project. My one redeeming hope from this situation is Square Enix’s desire to protect their intellectual property, does this insinuate further official titles in the future?