Indie Game Forced to Rename Due to Copyright Issue

By | Niranjan Bhargav 13 Mar, 2023

Inti Creates, the developer of retro-styled games such as Azure Striker Gunvolt, has announced that it had to change the name of its latest release, Grim Guardians: Demon Purge, to Gal Guardians: Demon Purge due to a copyright issue. This change affects the game across all platforms and regions it was released on.

Reason for Change

The change was made after the owner of the trademark for “GRIMGUARD,” which was already registered in several countries, including the United States, European Union, United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand, filed a complaint against the game.

The trademark owner, Outerdawn Limited, has a similarly named game called Grimguard Tactics, a turn-based tactical RPG for mobile devices, which was filed back in August 2020, before the release of Gal Guardians.

[Important Announcement]
INTI CREATES is changing the title of "Grim Guardians: Demon Purge" to "Gal Guardians: Demon Purge."

During the transition, the game may become unavailable on some storefronts. We apologize for the inconvenience. pic.twitter.com/m7ACPMdL0P
— INTI CREATES (@IntiCreatesEN) March 9, 2023

Game Details

Gal Guardians: Demon Purge is an action-platformer inspired by the old-school Castlevania series, where sisters Shinobu and Maya Kamizono find that their school has been transformed into a gothic castle. The game was released in February but had to be renamed due to a copyright issue.

Response to the Complaint

Inti Creates responded to the complaint by renaming the game to Gal Guardians: Demon Purge, which references one of the developer’s other franchises, GalGun. The protagonists of GalGun: Double Peace and Gal*Gun 2, Shinobu, and Maya Kamizono are also the main characters of Gal Guardians: Demon Purge, making the revised title a more indicative part of the series it had spun off from.

The Steam version of "Grim Guardians: Demon Purge" has been updated to change the title to "Gal Guardians: Demon Purge."

Check the Steam Store page for more details: https://t.co/zSTJhf8pBO
— INTI CREATES (@IntiCreatesEN) March 9, 2023

Changes Across Platforms

The Steam version of Gal Guardians: Demon Purge has already been updated with the new title, while the Nintendo Switch version is currently unavailable. Inti Creates promises to make the name change process quick so that fans can continue to play this Castlevania spiritual successor as soon as possible.

While the game’s name has been changed, it is still the same action-packed game inspired by classic franchises that Inti Creates is known for creating. The change to Gal Guardians: Demon Purge is fitting and more indicative of the game’s connections to the Gal*Gun series.

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