Ubisoft changed the name of its title, Gods & Monsters, to Immortals: Fenyx Rising in order to avoid legal trouble with Monster Energy. Word of the game’s name change came soon after footage leaked online in June 2020, though, the exact reasons for the shift in the name weren't revealed at the time. Speculation pointed to the game having changed tremendously since its press demo was playable at E3 2019, thus being responsible for the alteration.
Ubisoft first released a Assassin’s Creed Odyssey and it was originally supposed to release on February 25, 2020, but this year has seen fit to dash expectations to the ground across the industry.
Since Gods & Monsters was officially retitled, TechRaptor reports the reason for the switch resulted from Ubisoft wanting to avoid legal trouble with Monster Energy. Evidently, Monster Energy claimed Gods & Monsters – now Immortals: Fenyx Rising – “could cause confusion with almost all of their trademarks.” Essentially, Monster Energy was concerned consumers would mistake the title Gods & Monsters for one of their products and claimed Ubisoft’s game could cause confusion or attempt to deceive consumers. Ubisoft denied Monster Energy’s allegations, stating “there are many trademarks containing the word Monster, in a variety of categories, both internationally and federally.” In the end, Monster Energy and Ubisoft engaged in settlement talks. Whether the companies settled is unclear, but it is possible changing the game’s name was a condition of a potential settlement.
Legal battles are par for the course when it comes to business dealings. The larger the company, the more likely they’re going to have claims made against them. When it comes to dealing in millions or billions of dollars, emotions fall to the wayside and it comes down to the bottom line. Monster Energy’s claims, while seemingly unreasonable on the surface, aren’t as uncommon as one might think.
It may seem odd that an energy drink is concerned about the title of a video game with which it's unassociated. However, consumers aren’t exclusive to one industry or product. Any potential association of one product with another, even unintentional, can affect the revenue stream of either company. While Ubisoft may not have been concerned about the potential – albeit unlikely – confusion between the two products, Monster Energy doesn’t appear to be playing games. Regardless, consumers are smarter than companies tend to believe, though, this dispute is by no means a personal one.
Immortals: Fenyx Rising arrives for Google Stadia, Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S, and Xbox Series X on December 3, 2020.
Source: TechRaptor
