Activision sues Double Fine over Brutal Legend

by Christopher Grant { Jun 4th 2009 at 1:49PM } Breaking News Xbox PlayStation

Yahoo reports that Activision filed a lawsuit against Double Fine, developer of the Jack Black-fueled Brütal Legend, on Wednesday to "stop the release" of the game. The mega-publisher claims to have invested "roughly $15 million" into the game's development and that "it still has a valid contract to release the game," despite Double Fine transferring rights to Electronic Arts late last year.

Last February, Electronic Arts responded to Activision's saber rattling saying, "We doubt that Activision would try to sue. That would be like a husband abandoning his family and then suing after his wife meets a better looking guy." Yeah ...

So, to recap:

1. Sierra is subsumed into Activision, following the Activision Blizzard merger
2. Activision drops much of Sierra's lineup, including Brütal Legend
3. Brütal Legend looks for another publisher, but Activision is "blocking the process"
4. EA Partners swoops in as the game's new publisher
5. Activision sues Double Fine (that's this post)