Humvee Maker AM General Is Suing Call of Duty
The military vehicle maker says the $15 billion video game franchise used the Humvee without permission.
According to a report from Reuters, the manufacturer of the Humvee, AM General, is suing video game publisher Activision for using its iconic military truck without permission in the hugely successful Call of Duty franchise.
AM General apparently filed a complaint to Manhattan's U.S. District Court Tuesday night, accusing Activision of "taking advantage of its goodwill and reputation in the 'Humvee' and 'HMMWV' marques" by heavily featuring the heavy-duty vehicles not only in the Call of Duty series of video games, but in other, Call of Duty-licensed merchandise such as toys and books.
Since the franchise's launch in 2003, Call of Duty has become synonymous with the first-person, military shooter genre of video games, accumulating over $15 billion in revenue as of 2016. If you ask AM General, CoD's wild success came "only at the expense of AM General and consumers who are deceived into believing that AM General licenses the games or is somehow connected with or involved in the creation of the games."
The Humvee, also known as the HMMWV for High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle, was first produced in 1984 and has become a ubiquitous sight in war zones both real and virtual, in addition to inspiring civilian-ready versions under the Hummer brand.
The latest CoD game, Call of Duty: WWII went on sale just last Friday. Depending on how this lawsuit pans out, future installments may be forced to resort to Grand Theft Auto-style, generic lookalike Humvees to ferry around the digital troops.
