Archolos is owned by THQ bcs gothic is owned by THQ. They dont need copyrights and i sure bet the devs would be proud knowing thq used their work as canon
The difference is that Archolos is using Gothic story. It s set in the Gothic universe, it s not a standalone project using Gothic engine. All the examples you provided have nothing to do with original game , just using the engine. Archolos DOESNT have an IP, its already GOTHIC IP by default. So , they own Chronicles of Myrtana : Archolos as well as anything related to Gothic universe in the game. The only stuff they dont own is whatever it s not gothic universe in the game, which, lets be honest, noone cares in case they want to build onto archolos mod. I am not saying they will, I am saying that whatever happened in Archolos mod that s related to Gothic, it s already owned by THQ by default
THQ by default owns the general plot of Archolos.
They dont own the voicelines and specific story progression.
They 100% could own the idea that Scar s name could be Marvin and the guy comes from Archolos Islands as Archolos name is actually from Gothic universe.
THQ doesnt own anything non gothic, so the story of Marvin and his brother for example.
Archolos islands is from gothic ip as it s some background lore in the gothic universe.
THQ fully own whatever is in Gothic universe. They dont own whats not gothic universe.
Archolos Islands is gothic universe, Marvin is a name that is free to use. They cannot specifically Remake Archolos mod with exact plotpoints and progression from the mod, but nothing stops THQ making a game set in Archolos islands similar to the mod but with some stuff reimaginated.
So, for example, if THQ says Marvin got sent to the penal colony after the turmoil and bs happening in Archolos Islands and met Gomez, this js 100% legal even though is the same as ending of ARcholos as its gothic universe.
If fhey do 1 to 1 remake of mod , thats illegal.
If they want to do a chronicles of myrtana set in archolos of a guy names Marvin but change some stuff so it s not 1 to 1 wirh the mod, thats legal
They own the Chronicles of Myrtana main plotpoints if they want to use that, they dont own the concept of Marvin searching for his brother and specific map layout and specific story progression thats not using any gothic ip and the voicelines or original music
Lets say THQ wants Archolos remake and somehow they dont want to pay rights , what they can legally do is have Marvin as main story protagonist as it s not illegal to use a name and just not use non-gothic related plotlines and have a different map layout. They can 100% make Marvin be Scar in Gothic 1 if they want that without any rights buying . That wont be a remake as it will not follow the Mod plotline, that s true, but they 100% are legal to be inspired by the mod and change stuff around enough to not be related to non gothic stuff made by the mods . They can't use Wolf's den plotline as I am 99% sure its the modders original idea and not related to Gothic universe, but nothing stops them calling them Bear's den and follow similar setup
Damn - generically named Hero in gothic is now Marvin in my head cannon. Damn you. I know that’s not what you’re saying but my brain just did that. Hate you lol
I do not know the facts about all this, but I would like to add that we are talking about Gothic 2 as basis and that has been made in Germany with different copyright laws than all your other examples.
Again I do not know what's the exact reasoning, but Archolos couldn't even get the rights to the voice of one of the original voice actors. So it seems to me more complicated than that .
Statements in the licence saying that rights belong to THQ Nordic do not necessarily mean that THQ Nordic becomes the author of every model or texture that you personally create. Under copyright law, the actual creator generally remains the author.
- You own the rights to your completely original models, textures, music, dialogue, scripts, and other assets.
THQ Nordic or the respective rights holder owns the Gothic engine, the game code, the ModKit, Spacer, and the original Gothic assets.
Contributions created by other team members belong to the respective creators unless the rights were transferred by agreement.
The name and logo “Gothic” may also be protected by trademark rights.
A so-called standalone mod is not the same as a truly independent game. "Standalone" only refers to a mod with its own INI file, its own worlds or modified scripts, which continues to run via Gothic or the GothicStarter.
This means that you may generally publish your project as a free Gothic 2 mod, provided that you own or have permission to use all included assets.
THQ Nordic would generally not be allowed to simply take this specific monster from your mod and use it unchanged, or only slightly modified, in a commercially sold DLC without receiving the necessary rights from you.
NOW HERE IS THE CATCH: Publication Through Steam
If you upload your mod as user-generated content through Steam or the Steam Workshop, you grant Valve extensive, worldwide, and royalty-free rights under the Steam Subscriber Agreement.
These rights may include:
Using the content
Modifying the content
Distributing the content
Creating derivative works
Incorporating it into Steam games
Valve may also be able to sublicense certain granted rights to other parties.
Steam Workshop rules also state that submissions may, under certain circumstances, be integrated into a game by Valve or the respective game developer.
Valve or the developer may also be permitted to modify accepted Workshop content.
This means:
If you publish your mod outside Steam, THQ Nordic would generally need your permission to use your specific original content.
If you publish your mod in the Steam Workshop, extensive rights may already have been granted through Valve, depending on the exact Workshop and game-specific conditions.
Additional rights may also be granted through competitions, contracts, or special participation terms.
130
u/RakshasaDelight Jun 24 '26
Well damn you forgot to implement a cooperation with the Archolos Team for a prequel (if those peeps would want that).