Wales Interactive Under Possible Legal Threat for Maid of Sker Promos

Just last week, Wales Interactive announced its horror game Maid of Sker, which is set in the late 19th century and based on the “true story” (read: legend) of maid Elizabeth Williams. The unsettling trailer was enough to spark our intrigue in the game. Now, though, the developer is under legal threat.

As it turns out, the owner of the real-life Sker House near Porthcrawl in South Wales isn’t pleased with how Wales Interactive has been handling its promotional materials for the game, and is now considering legal action against the company.

The promotional materials used to announce Maid of Sker included images of the real house, and its official summary touched on the true story of Elizabeth Williams. What’s interesting, though, is the game doesn’t even take place in Sker House. Instead, it’s actually set in a fictional hotel of the same name.

Eurogamer reported on the story and has since spoken to Sker House’s estate keeper regarding the promotion of the game. In their conversation, Euorgamer was told the estate “discovered the game’s existence via an Instagram post which featured a photo of their house, tagged with its name and advertising its status as a haunted building.”

Despite the estate considering legal action, the team at Wales Interactive believe they are well within their rights to market the game with references to Sker House and to the story of Elizabeth Williams. The developer had this to say:

We believe [estate manager] is irate because of trespassers- possibly ghost hunters- on the grounds taking pictures of the house because of the Maid of Sker game announcement. Perhaps it’s to do with the fact it’s Halloween and Sker House is renowned for its haunting history that’s inspired many stories over the years. Whatever the reason, we are well within our rights to mention the history of the house.

Out of respect for the estate, however, Wales Interactive stated it’s modified its promotional content and “toned down the use of Sker House.”

Maid of Sker will release in 2019 for PS4, Xbox One, PC, and Nintendo Switch.