Update 01/18/2024: Remedy Entertainment has reached out to IGN to clarify the trademark dispute between it and Grand Theft Auto owner Take-Two Interactive, insisting “there is nothing to see here”.
Take-Two’s opposition of the logo rebranding, which bears similarities to GTA 6 developer Rockstar Games’ own logo, was just an “initial formality”, the developer said.
“There is nothing to see here – this was a discussion between our teams that was resolved entirely and amicably late last year,” the developer told IGN. “Unfortunately, it took a little longer to complete than we had hoped due to some holiday scheduling. The legal filing was simply an initial formality, and Remedy and Take-Two continue to work together in partnership.”
Original Story 01/16/2024: Take-Two Interactive, the owner of Grand Theft Auto 6 developer Rockstar Games, and Remedy Entertainment, the studio behind Alan Wake 2, are locked in a trademark dispute over their R-depicting logos.
As first reported by RespawnFirst, Take-Two filed a trademark dispute against Remedy in the United Kingdom over the rebranded logo it released last year. Its logo now solely depicts the letter R, or is sometimes styled with “Remedy” underneath, which Take-Two seemingly believes is too similar to Rockstar’s own R logo.
The UK government’s website lists both logos, available here and here, as opposed, with Take-Two named as the opponent.
Remedy’s new logo was unveiled in April 2023 as a “refreshed visual identity” following its departure from being a developer known for just one game. The previous logo referenced the studio’s first franchise Max Payne with a bullet, but Remedy has since developed the Alan Wake and Control franchises.
“The bullet in the letter R in the old logo represented the era of Max Payne, but the Remedy of now is much bigger than a single game; we have a whole portfolio of games, new and old,” it said in a blog post. “It was time to update and redefine our visual identity to bring more consistency, showcase our evolution over the years, and better express our vision of today’s Remedy.”
IGN has asked both Take-Two and Remedy for comment.
What makes this trademark dispute even more bizarre is the fact Remedy and Rockstar Games are working together on the Max Payne and Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne remakes. The two parties signed a new publishing agreement back in 2022 to remake the first two Max Payne games for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X and S, with Remedy handling development and Rockstar financing the project.
Alongside its continued support for the decade old Grand Theft Auto 5, Rockstar announced Grand Theft Auto 6 in December 2023. The game isn’t due out until 2025, but that hasn’t stopped fans (including us) obsessing over every detail of the trailer.
As for Remedy, the studio is currently working on several games in the Control franchise after releasing its psychological horror adventure Alan Wake 2 in October 2023. In our 9/10 review of that one, IGN said: “Alan Wake 2 is a superb survival horror sequel that makes the cult-classic original seem like little more than a rough first draft by comparison.”
Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He’ll talk about The Witcher all day.
All content and images belong to their respected owners. This article is aggregated for informational purposes only with full credit to the source.
