A few weeks ago, it was revealed that the popular online multiplayer, dinosaur-centric survival game ARK: Survival Evolved could be pulled from sale due to ongoing legal troubles between Studio Wildcard and Trendy Entertainment. A date was set for April 27th, where Trendy's request to have ARK: Survival Evolved pulled from sale would have been heard. Luckily for fans for the game, the lawsuit between the two companies has now been settled out of court.

The lawsuit stemmed from an accusation by Trendy Entertainment that Jeremy Stieglitz, a former creative director for Trendy, had been violating his no-compete clause by working on ARK's development in secret. Stieglitz's wife, Susan Stieglitz, the co-founder of Studio Wildcard, reported on Twitter that Trendy was seeking a whopping $600 million to settle the case out of court.

Trendy ended up agreeing to a much lower amount of $40 million this past Wednesday, April 13th, after a mediation between the two parties in Gainesville, Florida. Besides the figures provided by Susan Stieglitz on Twitter, no other details of the settlement between Studio Wildcard and Trendy Entertainment have been revealed to the public.

Since we don't know the exact details of the settlement, it's possible that the lawsuit could still have an impact on the development of ARK. Perhaps Trendy will now share some of the game's profits, which could explain why the company was willing to come so far down from the $600 million it was initially seeking. If this is the case, the frequent ARK: Survival Evolved content updates that fans currently enjoy could slow down leading up to the game's release.

Another possibility is that ARK: Survival Evolved could miss its planned release date of June due to circumstances surrounding the settlement. Currently, ARK is in early access on both PC and Xbox One, but difficulties from the lawsuit could have kept Studio Wildcard from keeping the game's development on track.

Of course, the settlement would also bring a complete end to the issues between Studio Wildcard and Trendy Entertainment. This would be the most desirable outcome for both Studio Wildcard and fans of ARK: Survival Evolved, as it would mean that the company can put these ugly legal troubles behind it and focus its full attention on finishing the development of ARK.

Until we know the details of the settlement, all of this is just speculation. Hopefully development on ARK can continue as normal, and fans can look forward to more unique creatures like the giant kangaroos, cybernetic T-Rex, and giant beavers that have already been added to the quirky online dinosaur game.

ARK: Survival Evolved is expected to have its full release in June for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.

Source: Kotaku, Twitter (via GameSpot)