You are now subscribed
Your newsletter sign-up was successful
Want to add more newsletters?
Every Friday
GamesRadar+
Your weekly update on everything you could ever want to know about the games you already love, games we know you're going to love in the near future, and tales from the communities that surround them.
Every Thursday
GTA 6 O'clock
Our special GTA 6 newsletter, with breaking news, insider info, and rumor analysis from the award-winning GTA 6 O'clock experts.
Every Friday
Knowledge
From the creators of Edge: A weekly videogame industry newsletter with analysis from expert writers, guidance from professionals, and insight into what's on the horizon.
Every Thursday
The Setup
Hardware nerds unite, sign up to our free tech newsletter for a weekly digest of the hottest new tech, the latest gadgets on the test bench, and much more.
Every Wednesday
Switch 2 Spotlight
Sign up to our new Switch 2 newsletter, where we bring you the latest talking points on Nintendo's new console each week, bring you up to date on the news, and recommend what games to play.
Every Saturday
The Watchlist
Subscribe for a weekly digest of the movie and TV news that matters, direct to your inbox. From first-look trailers, interviews, reviews and explainers, we've got you covered.
Once a month
SFX
Get sneak previews, exclusive competitions and details of special events each month!
Earlier this week, Prey for the Gods developer No Matter Studios announced that it was changing its name to 'Praey for the Gods' because of a trademark dispute from Bethesda. This happened just before Bethesda released Prey, and because the publisher is a big company and No Matter is a small developer, some fans reacted negatively towards this news.
While some requested Bethesda to explain themselves in Facebook posts and comment sections, Slipgate Studios level designer Daniel Mortensen asked Bethesda's VP of marketing Pete Hines "How the heck can [he] even defend this?!" directly on Twitter.
"We really didn't have much of a choice," Hines responded. "If we don't oppose the mark, we risk losing our Prey trademark. We don't really have a choice."
Mortensen said he respected the honest answer, and when he said it "still" wasn't a great situation, Hines agreed. However, some took issue with Hines' reply, accusing Bethesda of going "overboard."
"I think you probably assume [No Matter Studios] are just now hearing from us and this is the only thing we've tried. None of that is true," Hines said to one user. When others pointed out Bethesda's history in this, noting the incident with Minecraft developer Mojang's use of "Scrolls" in 2012, Hines said, "Mojang's trademark filing was rejected, and they basically licensed the right to use Scrolls from us."
"Scrolls would have superseded our Elder Scrolls trademark. Which is why we opposed it and trademark office rejected it," he added.
As Mortensen and Hines pointed out, this isn't a great situation. It's unfortunate that a developer can't use a common word in its game's name without legal matters arising. I'm not a lawyer, so I can't speak with much knowledge on the matter, but at least some good came out of the two companies' agreement.
No Matter can continue to use the original logo for Praey for the Gods, which features a woman kneeling in prayer instead of the letter "E" in Prey. Additionally, the team can continue to develop the game, which is good news for everyone. There's no release date yet, but we'll keep you updated as more information is revealed. For now, you can check out a recent video (below), which features pre-alpha footage of the protagonist climbing a big ol' bird. The scale of the scene is impressive.
