The companies are seeking to be involved with the project

May 21, 2015 20:43 GMT  ·  By

Video game developer Rockstar and publisher Take Two have announced that they are launching a lawsuit against the BBC over trademark infringement because of the Game Changer documentary that it is aiming to create based on the Grand Theft Auto franchise.

The companies are claiming that they have not been consulted about the project and they are not involved in its development in any significant way.

A statement sent by Rockstar to IGN says, "Our goal is to ensure that our trademarks are not misused in the BBC's pursuit of an unofficial depiction of purported events related to Rockstar Games. We have attempted multiple times to resolve this matter with the BBC without any meaningful resolution. It is our obligation to protect our intellectual property and unfortunately in this case litigation was necessary."

The Game Changer documentary is designed to focus on how the Grand Theft Auto franchise was initially created at Rockstar and the impact that it had on the video game world.

It is unclear whether the BBC will be interested in bringing the two companies in to work on the project or if they will fight the lawsuit in court even as they create it.

At the moment, Game Changer is supposed to be aired at some point in 2016.

The GTA documentary involves some big actors

Shooting has been going on since April, and Daniel Radcliffe is portraying Rockstar co-founder and president Sam Houser, while Bill Paxton is becoming Jack Thompson.

James Wood is the director for Game Changer, and the script was written by Owen Harris.

The BBC says it is trying to examine the way Grand Theft Auto was targeted by Jack Thompson in his crusade against violence in the video game world.

At the moment, Rockstar and Take Two have made GTA one of the biggest franchises in the history of the medium.

The fifth title in the series has managed to deliver more than 50 million units to players on all platforms, and the Online mode is attracting a huge number of players.

Rockstar has said that it wants to deliver more content and tools for it in the coming months.

The company has not offered any sort of information on the single-player DLC that was supposed to arrive for Grand Theft Auto V.