[HellSign]

As was published in Gamesindustry.biz (link), we recently found out someone else trademarked our old name Hellhunter, and after much legal consultation and negotiations we decided the best course of action was to change our name to HellSign (steam page).

How we found out about trademarking issue?
We were looking into trademarks a year back, but as we were on a short budget (indie), but we found even successful games didn’t have a trademark on launch (for the first couple of years).  Given this we did what every other indie dev with a dream would do, and took the risk so we could put the money towards a better game.
Unfortunately, last month when we decided to trademark, we found out ‘Hell Hunter’ was already trademarked, and based on legal advice, that was a problem.

Trademark negotiations
Given the sticky situation, Jason Kingsley from Rebellion was awesome! He not only personally replied to us, but handled it like a boss!  He was open to working something out and helping us through the situation, but unfortunately at the end of the day, as indies operating out of our savings our only two options were to change our name, or cut content, needless to say, we had to change the name.

Time/Money this has cost us
It is important to note that resolving an issue of this magnitude is not as simple as it may sound. It will take weeks or even months in some cases.
On top of all of that, we have lost 1 year of brand establishment and the marketing involved which has been the biggest hit of all.
Whether its a name change, or a legal battle to fight over your name, we want to stress there is really nothing good that can come from this, and at the end it leaves you choosing the lesser evil out of an array of unfavourable options.

Lessons learnt
For any indie title out there whose name is important and relevant to the game, we strongly encourage you to do the proper research, and trademark as soon as you can. We learnt the hard way, and it cost us time, money, years of brand establishment and a great game name!

Thanks for reading and hope we helped some fellow indies avoid this unfortunate situation.

Hellhunter is now on the Steam Store!
Lock and load, bait your traps and pack your Cryptonomicon - the nightmares are coming.

Add Hellhunter to your wishlist now, because we're actively developing the game and have lots of announcements coming soon.

Thanks to everyone who's supported us to get this far on social media and Kickstarter, we think you'll love what's coming.

Hey guys we have just launched a forum for Hellhunter at www.ballisticinteractive.com/forums where you can keep up to date with the direction we are headed, and join in on community discussions to help shape Hellhunter to be the best game it can be! Join now! :D

Hey guys,

Just an update on Hellhunter. We improved the poltergeist telekinetic ability based on some feedback!
Also here is sneak peak into the cursed artifacts.

We have just launched on Kickstarter and Greenlight!

Support us on Kickstarter
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/686144604/hellhunter

Vote for us on Greenlight
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=787863514



Keep in touch:

Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ballisticinteractive/hellhunter
Twitter: https://twitter.com/BstInteractive
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HellhunterGame/
Website: http://www.hellhuntergame.com/

Hey guys here is some more information about Hellhunter's Investigation and Detection mechanics!

In Hellhunter, every good case starts with a careful investigation. Scoping out your surroundings for out of the ordinary clues will help you decipher the identity of the creatures you are hunting.











During your investigations, you will encounter all sorts of creatures, ranging from souls of the dead that have come back to haunt the living to corporeal undead with a thirst for blood.

[Hellhunter]

Hey guys, here is a sneak peak of our upcoming game Hellhunter!
Would love to hear your thoughts, thanks!




Hellhunter is a supernatural investigative hunting RPG, where you assume the role of a freelance hunter building your career towards uncovering the ultimate terror.

However with each job, the level is procedurally generated, and the true identity of the supernatural creature is not revealed. It is up to you to explore and investigate it, to determine the tools needed to vanquish the hostile entity, which creates an intense and unique experience for every hunt.

Death lurks in every corner. Do you have what it takes to become a hellhunter?