Immortals: Fenyx Rising is coming December 3, a very short wait for a game that was just recently reintroduced with a new visual style and a new title. It was previously called Gods & Monsters, and there’s reason to believe the name change owes itself at least partly to a trademark dispute with an energy drink company.
The Hoeg Law YouTube channel (via Eurogamer) noted that legal documents show Ubisoft’s trademark for Gods & Monsters was contested by Monster Energy. Monster filed the opposition in April 2020, citing potential for trademark confusion due to its own brand licensing deals in video games. Ubisoft reportedly responded to the opposition in May, rebutting the claim by pointing out that the word “monster” was in use in other trademarks. But then in June, Ubisoft began publicly calling it “the game formerly known as Gods & Monsters” after a demo leaked on Stadia.
When Ubisoft reintroduced the game, complete with its new name, it had its own explanation for the title change. Game director Scott Phillips told GameSpot that it wanted to put more emphasis on the main character, Fenyx, and to put her front-and-center. He said those discussions happened near the end of 2019, which is well before Monster filed its opposition–and before Ubisoft filed a rebuttal defending the original name.
