Mob Wars creator sues Zynga over Mafia Wars

Developers of mafia games might not be likely to find horses' heads in their beds, but they are increasingly risking waking up to a lawsuit, judging by the latest developments in the US.

Social gaming firm Zynga is being sued by David Maestri, the creator of Mob Wars on Facebook, over its launch of fellow Facebook game Mafia Wars, claiming it rips off his game.

It's a tangled web, though, Maestri originally developed Mob Wars while working at SGN, and ended up in a protracted legal battle with that company over who owned the rights to it (in short, Maestri kept the game for his company Psycho Monkey, but SGN was allowed to produce similar games without fear of him suing them).

The new case may have implications for iPhone games as well as Facebook. Several iPhone games owe a clear debt to Mob Wars, and while SGN's Mafia: Respect & Retribution should be in the clear thanks to that previous settlement, rival publishers Addmired (iMob Online), Aftershock Innovations (Mafia Live!) and PlayMesh (iMafia) may be in Maestri's sights too.

Mob Wars itself has yet to be released for iPhone. For more on iPhone mafia games, see Pocket Gamer's round-up of the four current titles.