Dieselstormers

You’ll most likely know the Germany-based Black Forest Games for its excellent Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams on the Wii U eShop, but in the run up to its new project — DieselStormers — the developer has come under fire for choosing that particular title.

Italian clothing company DIESEL has filed legal opposition against Black Forest Games, declaring that the similarity in the game’s title to its company name would result in a “likelihood of confusion”. The DIESEL name is not just limited to clothing, and spans other wares such as gifts, toiletries and, in a broader sense, games.

Since the two companies are from different countries but are both within the European Union, it falls to the Office for the Harmonisation in the Internal Market — an EU agency — to make the final decision about the dispute. Our German friends have little more they can do than simply wait for the verdict.

In response to these allegations, the managing director of Black Forest Games Andreas Speer simply remarked:

The history of the Dieselstormers project is full of challenges. This dispute is simply one more thing to overcome, but we will not be deterred in our will to make a great game.

To find out more about DieselStormers you can check out the development blog here.