‘Warzone’ developer starts GoFundMe to fight Activision lawsuit

An indie game developer is facing a legal battle with Activision over the “Warzone” trademark, despite launching their game three years before the massively popular battle royale title.

Released back in March of 2020, Warzone has grown into one of the most popular shooter titles ever made. The game’s free-to-play model and integration into the main Call of Duty series have drawn in a staggering amount of players since its launch.

Despite this, Activision is not the only publisher with a game called “Warzone” and the multi-million dollar company is doing everything in its power to secure the trademark.

Unfortunately, an indie developer who also has a strategy game called “Warzone” is being targeted and is now facing a legal battle with Activision. The dev has now set up a GoFundMe so he can dispute Activision’s claims and keep the trademark for himself.

Warzone browser game set to take on Activision in legal battle

Randy Ficker, owner, and developer of the “Warzone” strategy game launched his title all the way back in 2017. Having dedicated himself to building up and creating a single game over the last decade, “Warzone” remains his only source of income as he’s the only person that works on the title.

Despite launching the game over three years before Activision’s huge battle royale title, the publisher filed a lawsuit against the indie developer on April 8th, 2021.

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Determined to retain the Warzone trademark, Ficker has set up a GoFundMe to hopefully raise enough money to take on Activision and win the lawsuit. With a goal of $50,000 total, the dev has already raised over $12,000 in just 18 hours.

It’s obvious Fickerisn’t willing to back down and is shocked at Activision’s decision to file a lawsuit.

“It shocked me, though, that they filed for the trademark of Warzone… That’s the exact same name as my game!”

Ficker has promised that a 100% of the funds raised will go to taking on Activision and has thanked any donors for supporting indie gaming.

• Read More: Bizarre Warzone bug makes players look like dead bodies

While it’s unclear how the legal battle will play out for the developer at this time, the overwhelming support from the gaming community has at least given him the opportunity to defend the trademark.

We’ll make sure to keep track of the lawsuit and update you on the conclusion of the legal battle once it’s taken place.