Activision Blizzard is in some hot water over its Call of Duty series — and surprisingly not for loot boxes. Instead it all comes down to a car.
Sim racing games have a number of hoops to jump through when it comes to featuring real vehicles. The stumbling block for many a car is the licensing. Perhaps the most famous example of this was the Electronic Arts’ exclusive Porsche license; only when this agreement expired at the end of last year did Porsche models become widely available in racing games. Let’s also not forget about Toyota, as its road cars seem to be disappearing from many racing titles.
This issue affects other genres too though; take Call of Duty. Pretty much any gamer knows about the Call of Duty series of games. Like Madden and FIFA, their yearly release attracts millions of players across all platforms. Since its introduction in 2003, the franchise is a poster child for success. With $15 billion in revenue and over 250m units sold, it’s the largest gaming franchise on the planet.
Since the Call of Duty series revolves around warfare it stands to reason that military vehicles will make an appearance. Perhaps the most recognizable of these vehicles is the AM General HMMWV.
The HMMWV, better known as the “Humvee” or by its civilian name “Hummer”, is a staple of military transportation. In service for more than three decades, it’s also part of 50 countries’ military arsenals.
This is why using it in the Call of Duty series must seem like a no-brainer for Activision. A truck bearing a remarkable similarity to the Humvee has appeared in all of the series’ titles set in the modern era. However, it seems that the publisher never acquired the license to use the likeness of the Humvee in its games, books, and toys.
AM General claims it tried to resolve the dispute for more than a year with Activision. However, after a communication breakdown, it filed a suit in the US District Court in Manhattan. The company claims that Activision reaped billions in revenue from using the vehicle.
While that figure seems optimistic, it seems the AM General has a fairly solid case. It will be interesting to see the outcome of this, and the effect it has on other titles. Several games that use vehicles that are incredibly similar to a real-life counterpart and even if they lack the official name, it’s easy to tell what they are. The Grand Theft Auto series is famous for this.
If AM General wins the suit, it very well could open the door for other manufacturers to follow in its footsteps.
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