Epic voices SOPA unease, despite ESA backing

Gears of War and Infinity Blade developer Epic Games has publically stated that it does not support America’s Stop Online Piracy Act in its current form.

This puts the studio directly at odds with the Entertainment Software Association – of which Epic is a member – which earlier this week affirmed its support for the proposals.

"Epic Games supports efforts that would stop overseas websites profiting from pirating our games," Epic’s senior PR manager Dana Cowley stated.

"But we have to do that in a way that’s compatible with freedom of speech and due process of law. Thus, we do not support the current version of SOPA."

Last week EA, Sony and Nintendo apparently sought to have their names removed from SOPA’s supporting documentation, but none of them have yet spoke out directly against it.

Representatives of both Trion Worlds and 38 Studios so far stand alone as the only figureheads to publically oppose SOPA.

The ESA conceded that it is mindful of concerns raised about a negative impact on innovation” but added that our industry needs effective remedies to address this specific problem, and we support the House and Senate proposals to achieve this objective.”