Ubisoft recently announced a new name for its mythological action adventure Gods & Monsters: Immortals: Phoenix Rising, and VGC reports that the new name was the result of a trademark dispute. According to an April opposition document posted on the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's website this year, beverage brand Monster Energy Inc. had objected to the game being published under the name "Gods & Monsters."

The YouTube channel of Hoeg Law, a business law firm that frequently posts instructional videos on legal issues in the entertainment industry, explains Monster Energy's reasons for objecting to the name in a video about the case that looks at the opposition papers.

As Hoeg explains, because of Monster's involvement in the gaming industry, the company argued that the name and its possible association with Monster Energy could harm its business. Ubisoft denied the claim in May, but still decided to change the name shortly after. When asked about the name change in a VGC interview last week, game director Julien Galloudec claimed that it was part of an overall visionary change in the design process and that "[...]. The game had changed so much that we felt it needed a new name that was more consistent with its updated vision, so we decided to change the name to Immortals Fenyx Rising, a name that combines the timeless aspects of Greek mythology and the concept of immortality"

The new name is not tongue-in-cheek, but it is just a name. Ubisoft probably covered up its reasons, as many companies are reluctant to publicly acknowledge legal disputes, or at least as Epic did when it sued Apple.