Rockstar Games, owned by Take-Two Interactive, has initiated a legal suit against the Finnish game developer Remedy Entertainment over its logo featuring an R symbol. This case is especially curious, as both companies have been partners for many years, collaborating on the Max Payne franchise.
Just last year, the Finnish company introduced its new logo after more than 20 years. Instead of the encircled “R” the brand had before, the emblem showcases a vibrant “R”, while an alternate version may also include the lettering “Remedy”.
In Rockstar and Take-Two, as parent entity, they think, however, that this design is too close to their own logo. According to the website of the Intellectual Property Office of the United Kingdom, the company filed a lawsuit against two logos of Remedy.
While presenting its new logo in May 2023, the Finnish developer said that the bullet in the “R” in its old emblem symbolized the Max Payne era, and this was “more than a game”. However, Remedy’s portfolio also includes a range of other products. So, the company declared, it was time to “update and redefine our visual identity to achieve better consistency, show our evolution over the years, and express our modern vision of Remedy”.
While the company’s two new logos are still waiting to be approved in the United States, Remedy has faced a legal problem within the British jurisdiction. According to Take-Two as the main claimant, there is some risk of confusing the emblem of the American game publisher with that of the Finnish company. So far, it’s the only formulated objection expressed by Take-Two.
According to British legislation, both parties have been given a “cooling off period” to settle the issue out of court. If the two companies fail to find a middle ground, legal proceedings may go ahead in September 2025. However, it seems unlikely that the long-standing partners will really quarrel in court. While Take-Two fully acquired the Max Payne rights 20 years ago, both developers continued their cooperation, creating some remakes of the first games of the series.
As for the Rockstar visual identity, it was adopted in 1998, when Take-Two acquired BGM Interactive and renamed it Rockstar. The new name appeared as a reference to an amateur music band organized by the company’s co-founders, Dan and Sam Housers, Terry Donovan, and Jamie King. Reflecting the name, Rockstar’s logo features a capital “R” in black and a white star with a black border.
