In one of the most unexpected turns of events in the game industry, the publisher of GTA 6 and the parent company behind Rockstar Games is now legally going up against the studio that launched The Game Awards-winning title Alan Wake 2 last year. What makes the situation more surprising is that the two companies were working together to remake the beloved original Max Payne games, but Remedy now finds itself on the receiving end of a legal clash.
The studio may have solidified its place in the gaming world with excellent titles, but Take-Two Interactive seems to be coming for it over a trademarked logo.
The Clash of the Trademarked Rs Between the GTA 6 Publisher and Remedy
Remedy Entertainment, the beloved studio behind last year’s Alan Wake 2 and the original Max Payne games, is facing legal trouble with GTA 6 publisher Take Two Interactive. This is in regards to the trademarked logos that both companies have, which may not look exactly the same as one another but seem similar because of one element.
The main argument provided by the parent company behind Rockstar Games involves both logos’ usage of the letter “R,” which the Grand Theft Auto developer has been associated with since forever.
Although it is literally just a letter that does not seem to be that serious, especially when Remedy Entertainment’s name starts with it as well, Take Two Interactive is now claiming that the Alan Wake developer’s logo looks a little too much like Rockstar’s.
Calling Rockstar Games’ trademarked R iconic would be an understatement since it can be easily recognized by almost everybody familiar with the video game industry, something that the other studio does not have the luxury of, at least relatively. The “trademark dispute” was reported and shared by RespawnFirst on its official website and reporter Jake, who stated that both companies are clashing due to “Remedy’s logo.”
The studio behind Alan Wake filed trademarks for two logos just last year on May 11, 2023, both of which feature two Rs with an arrow going into them. One of them has the word “REMEDY” written underneath as well, while the other logo does not have that. It was just extremely unexpected for something like this to happen between two very well-known names in the gaming industry, especially considering their recent collaborative relationship.
Even the way both Rs are stylized is obviously not remotely similar, but Take Two Interactive definitely seems to think the opposite.
Rockstar Games’ Parent Company Has Done Something Similar in the Past
Both of Remedy’s trademarked logos have a current status of “Opposed” on the Intellectual Property Office UK’s official website. It is worth noting that this isn’t the first time that Rockstar Games’ parent company has started a legal dispute with another video game studio when it comes to trademarks. In 2023, Take Two Interactive went up against yet another title called It Takes Two, which was developed by Hazelight Studios and published by Electronic Arts.
As ridiculous as it may sound, the GTA 6 publisher claimed that It Takes Two very closely resembled its own name, so it is obvious that Take Two Interactive does not mess around when it comes to its intellectual property, whether it is about logos or titles. Remedy Entertainment’s old logo used to have a bullet going into the R, which the studio stated was because it “represented the era of Max Payne.”
However, the company is now known for much more than just that beloved series, so it made sense why it would change its logo as well, which represents the developer becoming “much bigger than a single game.”
While the Alan Wake studio was trying to “update and redefine” its “visual identity,” Take Two Interactive did not seem to be on board.
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