What, again?
Everyone knows that trademark law is a pain in the butt and it isn’t the first time that big game developers/publishers have put small little indie companies through the hoops. The latest big news in this department is Bethesda launching a trademark lawsuit against No Matter Studios, the developers behind Prey for the Gods, a successful Kickstarter-funded indie game originally backed in 2015.
Bethesda has made moves like this before, the most notable being the suit against Mojang’s Scrolls games, which Bethesda claimed was too like its popular The Elder Scrolls series, although in the end Mojang was allowed to keep the name. No Matter Studios isn’t so lucky. Ultimately, Bethesda won this case. In a statement originally made to IGN, the developer said,
“We really didn’t have much of a choice. If we don’t oppose the mark, we risk losing our Prey trademark and that isn’t acceptable. Unfortunately, that’s how trademark law works.”
Now that might sound like a lot of baloney, but Bethesda isn’t exactly wrong. No Matter Studios is allowed to keep the game logo but it must now be officially listed as Praey for the Gods, as Prey for the Gods and Præy for the Gods were too similar for Bethesda’s liking.
But it’s just a name!
No Matter Studios stated that they thought about fighting the opposition for quite a long time, but ultimately didn’t want to spend their Kickstarter money on a legal matter or have to ask for more funding in order to cover the various fees that come with a case like this.
In my opinion it seems like a load of bs. The games are completely different in every way, and there’s no chance that anyone is going to mistake the two, and it certainly seems that Bethesda is acting the bully. They’re a large, successful, multi-million dollar company, and No Matter Studios is made up of three people who just love making games. It’s no wonder they decided to capitulate.
Praey for the Gods is set for a PC, PS4 and Xbox One release in December of this year.
You may also be interested in:
Bethesda's New Game "Prey" is Solid on PC
Gaming PC Sales Are Up, Up and Away!
President of 2K Games Christoph Hartmann Mysteriously Steps Down
