If you click on a link and make a purchase we may receive a small commission. Read our editorial policy.

Activision disputes Brutal Legend rights

Publisher claims it was still in negotiations with Double Fine - which invalidates EA's deal

Activision Blizzard could disrupt the release of Double Fine's Brutal Legend, claiming it still owns rights to the title which bars Electronic Arts from publishing it.

Electronic Arts picked up the heavy metal action adventure title after it had been dropped during the Activision merger with Vivendi. However, Activision has now written a letter to EA informing the company of its claim that it was still in negotiations with Double Fine and therefore the EA deal is invalid, according to Variety.

It's speculated that the Call of Duty publisher is looking for a payoff, similar to the ones it received from Atari for Ghostbusters and The Chronicles of Riddick: Dark Athena.

"We doubt that Activision would try to sue," commented an EA spokesperson. "That would be like a husband abandoning his family and then suing after his wife meets a better looking guy."