14 DAY TRIAL // The team at Stoic Games working on The Banner Saga says that it is unable to create a true sequel for the game because of the trademark that King, the maker of Candy Crush Saga, has been trying to enforce.
The company states, “King.com claims they’re not attempting to prevent us from using The Banner Saga, and yet their legal opposition to our trademark filing remains. We’re humbled by the outpouring of support and honoured to have others stand with us for the right to their own Saga. We just want to make great games.”
The company says that the name is integral to the vision it has for the game and that it cannot continue exploring the mix of Viking and fantasy elements without using the word Saga.
Alex Thomas, one of the Stoic Games developers, tells Polygon that his company filed for a trademark before King did.
He adds, “Essentially, we are not allowed to own the name ‘The Banner Saga’ for our game about a viking epic, because King.com says they have claimed rights to the noun ‘saga’, which means ‘a viking epic’, forever more in the realm of games.”
King, the maker of Candy Crush Saga, states that it is not trying to stop anyone from making a new game and that its only aim is to make sure that in the future, other companies cannot infringe on its copyright because of a precedent linked to The Banner Saga.
The company has also moved to trademark the work “candy” in order to make sure that no one else uses it in the video game world, although the trademark will likely not hold up in court.
The Banner Saga is the best new game of 2014 so far and manages to mix in an innovative way tactical turn-based combat, role-playing mechanics and beautiful artwork.