Stellar Blade has been caught up in some unexpected legal drama since its launch in late April. One of the most peculiar controversies surrounds a recent lawsuit filed against developer Shift Up and Sony, alleging trademark infringement.
IGN reports that the lawsuit was initiated in a Louisiana court by Griffith Chambers Mehaffey, owner of Stellarblade LLC, a film production company. His argument suggests that he has been using the stellarblade.com domain since 2006, with the company established in 2010. However, the release of the game has reportedly hindered the visibility of his business.
Mehaffey is currently seeking damages and demanding that Sony and Shift Up cease using the name “Stellar Blade.”
Furthermore, the lawsuit claims that his company’s trademarks and those of Shift Up’s game bear a “confusingly similar” resemblance. Both feature blue color schemes and a stylized S, although their overall designs differ significantly.
The branding issue emerged when the game was rebranded in September 2022 under the name Stellar Blade, having previously been announced as Project EVE in 2019. According to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, the Stellar Blade trademark was first filed in January 2023, followed by an opposition filed on September 11, 2024. Mehaffey registered his own trademark in June 2023 and later sent a cease and desist letter to Shift Up in July.
Stellar Blade was positioned as the PlayStation 5’s primary console exclusive release for 2024. Although reviews were mixed, with Digital Trends highlighting great style but criticizing its substance, Shift Up announced that the game reached 1 million units in sales in its initial months but later dropped out of PlayStation’s top 20 downloads list in June.
