Star Citizen developer Cloud Imperium Games (CIG) has offered a strongly worded response to a lawsuit brought last month by CryEngine maker Crytek , saying that suit "never should have been filed" and that its "contrived claims... sacrifice legal sufficiency for loud publicity."

Crytek's lawsuit alleged that CIG broke a CryEngine licensing agreement and infringed on Crytek's copyrights by switching from CryEngine to Amazon's Lumberyard platform in late 2016. But CIG contends that Crytek's complaint selectively and misleadingly quotes from the full Game License Agreement signed by both parties.

While Crytek argued that the license agreement couldn't be extended for use in CIG's spin-off game Squadron 42, for instance, the actual license agreement CIG shared with the court says directly up front that it applies to "the game currently entitled 'Space Citizen' [sic] and its related space fighter game 'Squadron 42.'"

CIG also argues that the "exclusive rights" to CryEngine granted in the license agreement do not extend to a requirement to use that engine. "The plain language of the GLA where the grant of rights to CIG appears, plus the well-established concept of an exclusive license, instead establish that the word 'exclusively' simply means that CIG’s right to use the Engine in the Game is exclusive to CIG and Crytek may not give that right to anyone else," the company writes.

"No provision in the GLA states that CIG 'shall not' embed any other engine or third-party software in the Game," the response continues.

By extension, the requirement to list Crytek's copyright notices only applies when CryEngine was being used, CIG argues. Furthermore, CIG argues, the original agreement bars either party from seeking damages, as Crytek is attempting with its lawsuit. And Roberts Space Industries, which is named in the original Crytek complaint, didn't actually sign the agreement in question, CIG contends.

The agreement submitted to the court reveals that CIG agreed to pay €1.85 million (about $2.21 million) for its CryEngine license, to be paid over a period of five years. That's a drop in the bucket compared to the over $176 million CIG has raised so far, but it's still a pretty big expense line for a game engine that won't end up being used directly in the long-delayed final game