The class-action lawsuit pitting angry gamers against the producers of critical stinker Aliens: Colonial Marines nearly reached a conclusion last month, when game producer Sega of America tentatively agreed to a $1.25 million settlement. However, on Wednesday, over a month after game developer Gearbox filed a motion distancing itself from any financial obligation —namely, to avoid paying $750,000 to bring the settlement's grand total to $2 million—Sega responded with its own motion insisting that Gearbox was just as responsible for any payout responsibility.

Ars obtained a copy of the motion, filed by Sega's lawyers in the Northern District of California Court. It included copies of e-mails, contracts, and correspondence that reinforced a particular sticking point in the case: that Gearbox was just as responsible for the game's promotional efforts—which were tagged as "misleading" in the class-action suit—as Sega was. Many of the dozen-plus letters hinged on Gearbox pushing forward with screens, videos, and other details that hadn't been cleared or approved for reveal by Sega, either on Gearbox's official website or at community events. Sega's attitude about this had deteriorated by October 2012, with a Sega PR rep blaming "persistent panel leaking" of game details on "Randy [Pitchford, Gearbox director] doing whatever the fuck he likes."

One e-mail, titled "Gearbox is announcing things," detailed a number of game facts and video preview footage revealed in June 2011 that hadn't been approved by Sega. In another, a Sega PR representative called out Pitchford for "talk[ing] a LOT beyond what was in there" at an event. And in yet another e-mail, Pitchford was quoted as saying "A:CM will curbstomp Dead Space," a prediction that we're comfortable saying never came true.

Perhaps more damning than anything was the reveal of an e-mail describing the game's pre-release demos—the very ones that this case hinges on, since said demos looked significantly better than the final retail game. "The E3 demo is indeed the bar that we should use to determine where the entire game will be," Sega staffer Matthew Powers wrote in July 2011. "That is Gearbox’s plan and what they believe in."

Sega's motion also alleged that when Gearbox claimed it hadn't participated in working out settlement terms, the developer's statement was "not correct," clarifying exact times and details of a negotiating meeting that Gearbox attended.