We always hope silly singular word trademark disputes within the video game industry never stick, but this one has. Just a few days after speaking to the creators of 'Prey for the Gods - they've had to change the name of their game following a bit of bullying from Bethesda/Zenimax.
Quietly mentioned in their newest newsletter, you'll notice the website for the game has been officially changed to 'Praey for the Gods' - mirroring the sudden name change. Why? Well, because Bethesda/Zenimax once trademarked the word 'Prey' for the reboot released a few days ago. They felt 'Prey for the Gods' came a little too close to their own franchise and had their expensive lawyers/henchmen step all over an indie startup.
The issue seems to have been going on for a little while with No Matter Studios mulling over fighting Zenimax/Bethesda in court. But considering this would mean spending Kickstarter-acquired funding, they decided it wasn't the right thing to do given the situation. After Zenimax was awarded at least $500 million in its lawsuit against Facebook-owned Oculus, it was probably the right decision.
No Matter Studios' 'Praey For The Gods' Came About Over A Good Old Fashioned Coffee
In light of the subject, however, No Matter Studios came to an agreement with their bullies in the end. The name change isn't all bad, too. According to the developers, they were already thinking about using 'Præy for the Gods' from the start stating "...the logo has both both the woman praying against the duality of prey". Thankfully they realised people might have trouble finding that 'æ' symbol. They were probably right there, too.
Regardless, they've come of the whole issue relatively unharmed. Though the impending lawsuit kept them up at night and likely distracted them from serious dev work, things should be getting back on track. You can read the full statement here.
