As spotted by Twitter user @usemyhandle, Rockstar and Remedy have apparently entered into a trademark dispute over Remedy's new logo.
The Finnish game development studio switched its logo for the first time in twenty years in April 2023. At the time, Remedy explained:
Creating a new logo and a refreshed visual identity for Remedy was an emotional journey, like anything to do with art. For longtime Remedy followers, you surely know how vital artistic direction is for us. Not just in our games but from the standpoint of how our studio identity looks. Not to mention our hoodies!
As a game development studio, we have come a long way since 1995 when we got our start. Remedy is constantly evolving.
The bullet in the letter R in the old logo represented the era of Max Payne, but the Remedy of now is much bigger than a single game; we have a whole portfolio of games, new and old.
It was time to update and redefine our visual identity to bring more consistency, showcase our evolution over the years, and better express our vision of today’s Remedy.
A few months later, Rockstar began opposing it in the UK (and presumably elsewhere, too), likely due to the similarity with its own historic logo. In any case, it is likely the two companies will be able to resolve this amicably soon enough. After all, Rockstar Games was the publisher of Max Payne 2 and subsequently developed the third installment after Take-Two purchased the IP rights (for $10 million) from Remedy. In April 2022, the companies partnered once again to remake the first two franchise entries, with Rockstar again acting as the publisher and Remedy as the developer.
A couple of months ago, the Finnish studio, which recently garnered widespread acclaim for Alan Wake II, confirmed the Max Payne remakes had entered the production stage.
Meanwhile, Rockstar is all hands on deck with the development of GTA VI. We got the first trailer last month, with a planned release at some point next year on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series S|X.
About the author: With over two decades of experience in gaming journalism, Alessio Palumbo has led the gaming vertical at Wccftech since August 2015. He started working at a young age for Italian websites like Everyeye.it, Gamestar.it, Nextgame.it, and Multiplayer.it before kickstarting the indie English-language publication Worlds Factory as its founder and Editor in Chief. In the last decade, he has coordinated the overall output of Wccftech's gaming section, managed PR relations, assigned reviews, produced daily news coverage, edited gaming content as needed, and delivered game reviews. Arguably, his trademark content is the long series of exclusive developer interviews that have been cited by Wikipedia and by the biggest news media and gaming publications. His passion for technology also makes him knowledgeable when it comes to gaming hardware and tech. His favorite genres include RPGs, MMORPGs, and action/adventure games.
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