With notable releases like Brothers: A Two Sons and A Way Out, Hazelight studio lead Josef Fares is recognized well beyond his response to the Oscars a few The Game Awards shows prior. More specifically in 2021, Hazelight is pinned for being the team responsible for It Takes Two: the latest co-op experience that ties players together in a journey of divorced parents overcoming obstacles physically and emotionally.
Following the release of the game, Josef Fares remarks on the game selling 1 million copies. In that, Fares explains that the desire for rich, cooperative experience is still prevalent, and that the industry is responsible to offer more tales aligned in scope to It Takes Two. However, the name now puts Hazelight in hot water.
In a new report from Eurogamer, Hazelight has abandoned the name for It Takes Two after a claim has been filed by Take-Two Interactive. As you can gather from situation, the game and the Rockstar Games parent company share a likeness in the names and is likely the culprit for the legal decision made by Take-Two Interactive.
According to a statement from an Hazelight spokesperson, the firm “cannot comment on ongoing disputes,” but is “hopeful it will be resolved.” When visiting the United States Patent and Trademark Office page for It Takes Two, there is a document for ‘Trademark Application Expressly Abandoned’ signifying that the developer is not fighting back the claim.
More worrisome is if the changes will affect the game’s future with the reputation it received recently. For those unfamiliar, It Takes Two has been nominated for two of the largest awards for The Game Awards: Best Game Direction and Game of the Year. The new report leaves uncertainty for how the game will be received if winning these awards or will be retracted from the nomination outright thanks to the legal feud.
The story comes at no surprise with Take-Two Interactive on a continuous crusade against smaller companies that share a likeness to the firm’s owned IPs. This even expanding to fan-made mods for legacy Grand Theft Auto titles ahead of the release for Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition. You can read the full report by heading here.
Are you surprised by the new legal battle from Take-Two Interactive?
Source: Eurogamer
