Epic Games Claims Ownership Over Jazz Jackrabbit in Fortnite Legal Tussle With Gears of War Creator
Cliff Bleszinski, longtime Epic Games developer and the renowned designer of Gears of War and Unreal Tournament, hit a legal wall when trying to secure the rights to one of his very first game characters, Jazz Jackrabbit, from his former employer.
Epic Games is embroiled in a legal dispute over the ownership of the character Jazz Jackrabbit, who recently appeared in the popular video game Fortnite. The character's creator, Cliff Bleszinski, expressed his frustration at not being able to secure the rights to his first game character. Bleszinski, a former Epic Games developer, claims he created Jazz Jackrabbit when he was around 17 years old and released the game in 1994.
Despite paying royalties for Jazz Jackrabbit on GOG, Epic Games maintains that they fully own the rights to the character. Bleszinski, who pursued the legal process, stated that despite the paperwork being lost, he is still receiving occasional payments from GoG.com, which suggests that the documentation exists somewhere. Bleszinski hopes to revive Jazz Jackrabbit either through a spiritual sequel or with a trusted partner, but acknowledges that he may have to pursue something similar in the form of a spiritual successor.
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