Take-Two Interactive owns Rockstar Games and 2K, both major video game publishers. The company’s portfolio includes multiple iconic series, from the likes of BioShock and Borderland to Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead, but Take-Two is also currently under fire for its petty legal disputes.
Eurogamer first reported that the company had forced developer Hazelight Studios to abandon its trademark of their then soon-to-be-released video game, It Takes Two. The report went on to illuminate that the publisher has aggressively sought to contest trademark claims even remotely connected to their biggest IPs, like “rockstar” and “civilization”, impacting a growing, if random, assortment of small businesses like restaurants, tattoo parlors, and even an axe-throwing company. Other games have been affected, too.