Monster Energy is going after developer Glowstick Entertainment, because they dared to use the term ‘Monsters’ in the title of multiplayer horror game Dark Deception: Monsters & Mortals. Apparently it’s too confusing, and people might think they’re actually buying a sickly sweet, overly caffeinated carbonated drink from a digital video game storefront like Steam.
Glowstick CEO revealed the legal spat on Twitter, vowing not to bow down to them and document Monster Energy’s approach, so that other indie developers can counter a similar situation.
Speaking of similar situation, Monster Energy previously went after Ubisoft for the title Gods & Monsters, with the pair quietly settling the matter when Ubisoft decided not to waste their own time and change the game’s name to the vastly superior title Immortals Fenyx Rising.
What’s bizarre is why they’ve taken on these two games in particular. There’s plenty of other games out there that include the word monster in the title, from Capcom’s Monster Hunter series to Monster Train, Monster Prom, Monster Sanctuary and plenty more. Perhaps they take issue with the monster-y font the studio has used?
The “non-negotiable terms” given to Glowstick would let them keep the game as it is currently called, but then prevent them from registering further trademarks on games including the word “Monster”, “Monsta”, “Monstrosity”, and even totally different words like “Beast” and “Unleash”.
I’ve no idea how this will turn out if it heads to the courts, but this is a ridiculous overreach by Monster Energy (and by extension their parent company Coca-Cola).
Monster Energy has weaselled their way into gaming in the past decades as a way to try and reach teenage gamers, just as they sponsor plenty of extreme sports athletes, motorsports teams, and even the whole AMA Supercross racing championship. In video games, their focus has been predominantly on esports, where they sponsor various esports events. There was also the weird Death Stranding product placement as well…
TSBonyman
Monster – for when you need an energy drink just to stay in your seat.