Horizon: Zero Dawn: The Frozen Wilds Trademark Suspended

The first (and currently planned to be the only) expansion to Horizon: Zero Dawn, Guerrilla’s hit new open world action RPG from earlier this year, will be The Frozen Wilds, which is slated to launch on November 7. At this point, Sony have been marketing it for quite a while, and the name of the expansion is known enough among PlayStation fans.

However, late in the game, Sony seems to have hit a bump in the road. As spotted by NeoGAF, it looks like Sony’s trademark for ‘The Frozen Wilds’ has been hit by a suspension notice, owing to its similarity with a mobile game by HUUUGE Games named “Frozen Wild.” As those familiar with trademark law know, a product cannot claim a trademark for one (or a similar one) registered to a similar product- that may lead to confusion among the masses. Sony, as a result, may find its application for a trademark refused.

Given this, what are the possibilities for how this plays out? There are multiple options Sony has, here: it can change the name of its own expansion (expensive, but the safest and most future proofed way); it can license the name from HUUUGE Games (expensive, and contingent on a active license); it can pay HUUUGE Games for rights to the name in perpetuity (expensive, again); or it can sell the game without a trademark (not recommended).

It is unlikely that this will cause the expansion to be delayed, but we will see how it plays out.