The title explains itself, folks. Monster Energy is pulling a Tim Langdell, and they are now throwing the developers of a game called Dark Deception: Monsters and Mortals. The reason is because of a dispute regarding the name of the game. The litigation is stated to have been stated to begin because the title of the game has the word “Monsters” as part of the title.
This isn’t the first time Monster Energy has sued developers for extremely petty reasons, mind you. The company’s been known for being extremely overzealous with its trademark. In fact, Immortals: Fenyx Rising owes its current name to Monster claiming that Immortals: Gods & Monsters would be confused with the brand. Additionally, the brand’s lawyers are also known for targeting smaller game studios and making them go bankrupt as stated by Glowstick Entertainment (the developer of Dark Deception: Monsters and Mortals) CEO Vincent Livings.
2. Monster Energy’s lawyers are coming after us right now, because @MonstersMortals has the word “Monsters” in it. They claim that our game is confusingly similar to their energy drink. Yep, that’s really their claim. Rather than roll over, I’m going to fight them in court.
— Vincent Livings (@VincentLivings) March 29, 2023
Additionally, Vincent has also shared the settlement terms for the lawsuit. In broad strokes, Monster Energy demands that if Glowstick Entertainment wants to continue using the Dark Deception: Monsters and Mortalsmoniker, they will have to never name any other game any variation of the word Monster. Additionally, the indie studio will be forced to agree to never use a green and white logo on a black background for any game and to also take control over the Monsters and Mortals logo, among other ridiculous demands.
Vincent is currently fighting against the company that’s been infamously known for being a “trademark bully” in an effort to allow game developers to fight back against any lawsuits that might pop up in the near future. Additionally, Vincent is making a call for people to boycott Monster Energy, stating that their messaging is hypocritical since they tout being a clean company to their base, which is athletes and gamers.
We’ll remain attentive to the developments of this case should anything of note happen. Of course, legal squabbles over petty matters are not unknown to the gaming industry, so stay tuned for more news as they come.
