Stellar Blade has been at the center of several unusual controversies since its debut in late April. One of the most unexpected developments is a recent lawsuit against Shift Up and Sony, alleging trademark infringement concerning the game’s title.
According to IGN, the lawsuit was lodged in a Louisiana court earlier this month by Griffith Chambers Mehaffey, who owns a film production company named Stellarblade LLC. Legal representatives assert that he has maintained the domain stellarblade.com since 2006, and his company has been operational since 2010. However, the popularity of the game has reportedly made it more difficult for individuals to locate information about his business.
Mehaffey is seeking monetary damages and demands that Sony and Shift Up cease the use of the name “Stellar Blade.”
Furthermore, the lawsuit claims that the trademarks associated with his company and those of Shift Up’s game share a “confusingly similar” appearance. Both utilize blue color schemes and feature a stylized letter S, though the designs differ significantly in other respects.
This issue did not arise when the game was initially announced in 2019 under the working title Project EVE. Sony unveiled the Stellar Blade name during its State of Play event in September 2022. As reported by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, the trademark for Stellar Blade was first filed in January 2023, with an “opposition” initiated on September 11, 2024. Mehaffey registered his trademark in June 2023 and subsequently sent a cease-and-desist letter to Shift Up in July.
Stellar Blade, which marked the PlayStation 5’s significant exclusive launch for 2024, received mixed reviews. Digital Trends highlighted its stylish design but noted it was “lacking substance.” Nevertheless, Shift Up announced that the title sold a million copies within the first few months. It fell off PlayStation’s top 20 downloads list in June.
