Epic Games launches trademark dispute against small Korean studio over the name “EPIDGames” 

Global game publishing giant Epic Games has filed a trademark objection against South Korean developer EPIDGames, claiming that the smaller studio’s name is too similar to its own (reported by ThisIsGame, via machine translation). The dispute was lodged after EPIDGames attempted to register an English trademark for its studio name ahead of the overseas launch of its mobile game Trickcal Re:VIVE

According to a statement by EPIDGames from August 7, Epic Games argues that the two names are visually and phonetically similar, distinguished by only one letter. These similarities, Epic claims, could potentially confuse consumers. 

EPIDGames, which was founded in 2013 and has been active for 12 years, believes the objection by Epic is the result of a misunderstanding and possibly a routine trademark defense move by the company. They plan to continue pushing for the approval of the English trademark, but anticipate that it is likely to turn into a prolonged legal battle. EPIDGames is anxious about the burden these proceedings will place on them. “For small and medium-sized game developers already struggling with development costs alone, this is a difficult issue to manage.” To make matters worse, they have confirmed that Epic Games has enlisted the legal support of a top law firm in Korea. 

This dispute seems to have struck EPIDGames at the worst possible timing, as they were in the midst of starting their expansion into the global market. Nonetheless, the developer says it will take necessary steps toward resolving the dispute with its own legal team. 

EPIDGames’ debut title Trickcal Re:VIVE is currently scheduled to release overseas in Q4 of 2025. The game’s Korean version on Google Play has a five-star rating out of 35k reviews and 500k downloads.