On Jan. 6, The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit rejected Silicon Knights' objection to a previous trial court ruling, which found it owed Epic Games $4.5 million in damages. That figure more than doubled after a judge awarded Epic Games to an additional $4.7 million to cover legal fees, meaning the company is now entitled to a total of $9.2 million from Silicon Knights.

　　Ironically, Silicon Knights was the company to initiate legal action, when it took Epic Games to court in July 2007, saying the Unreal Engine maker broke contracts with licensing partners in order to give Gears of War a head start on the competition. Epic was quick to counter-sue, firing back a month later claiming Silicon Knights tried to steal its technology, and asking for the judge to dismiss the original suit.

　　Epic Games won the case in May 2012, and in November 2012, Silicon Knights was ordered to destroy all copies of its ill-fated Xbox 360 action role-playing game Too Human and X-Men: Destiny, as they contained code that infringed on Epic's copyrights. In January 2013, Silicon Knights also had to pull Too Human and its associated content from Xbox Live. Silicon Knights argued its appeal in December 2013, which was rejected on Jan. 6.

　　This latest ruling, it seems, brings the legal saga to a close, leaving Silicon Knights without grounds for another appeal.