Kickstarter project Prey for the Gods has undergone a name change. Now titled Praey for the Gods — that “ae” in there is a dipthong — developer No Matter Studios had no problem naming names in a newsletter about the reason for the game’s new title.
“So we didn’t want to do this but we had to change our game name from Prey for the Gods to Praey for the Gods,” the No Matter Studios team wrote. “Thankfully we get to keep the logo but we will spell it ‘Praey for the Gods.’”
ZeniMax Media, parent company of Bethesda Softworks and owner of the Prey trademark, opposed No Matter Studios’ copyright application after it was submitted last May. In January, the developer abandoned its trademark filing for Prey for the Gods, unwilling to fight ZeniMax Media over the title.
With a reboot of the cult classic Prey launching later this week, it makes sense that ZeniMax Media is especially protective of its copyright. For a much smaller, crowdfunded project that has yet to enter the closed alpha stage, fighting back to keep the original name “wasn’t worth it.”
“While we disagree with their opposition we were able to come to an agreement,” No Matter’s post continued. “It was something that kept [us] up many nights, and no doubt shifted our focus from our game frequently. Worrying about the outcome if we went to trial, if we’d lose our fans or walk away from the mark and still potentially get sued for millions on trademark infringement. This is really something no starting company should have to deal with let alone a tiny team of 3. So the fact that we came out the other end intact still developing the game was a win.”
Prey — sorry, Praey — for the Gods will enter a closed alpha state for Kickstarter backers sometime later this year, with a release on PCs, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One due by December 2017. Watch some pre-alpha gameplay below, from back when the game was still known by its initial, properly spelled title.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vk7uzZG8HHU
Source: Polygon
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