Here’s the reality within the video game industry: once a studio thinks of the perfect title for an upcoming game or IP, this means the company has to file a trademark for it (or for several similar potential titles) if it wants to ensure that no other studio will be able to use or claim the title.
One perfect example for this would be Square Enix, an incredibly popular video game company that is always filing for trademarks. Recently, the company filed a trademark for the title “Forspoken,” which fans think could be a future expansion for the MMORPG Final Fantasy 14.
Now, the company has once again filed for another trademark, but fans still have no clue as to what this entails. As you may or may not know, Square Enix is currently working on multiple major projects right now. The development for Final Fantasy 16 is underway, Bravely Default 2 is set to release later this month, and Final Fantasy 7 Remake Part 2 is also in the works.
As such, you can imagine that the studio has to deal with a lot of legal wrinkles to ensure that these upcoming games will launch with no unauthorized merchandise or websites. Such is the importance of filing for trademarks, as it not only benefits the company greatly, but it also helps those fans who are interested to know what the studio has planned.
This time around, Square Enix has filed a trademark in Australia for the title “The Isle Dragon Roars.” This was previously trademarked in Japan, along with another version of the title that reads as “The Dragon Isle” (ドラゴンの島). Fans speculate that because the trademark was filed in Australia, this could mean that something new will be coming soon—or at least Square Enix will announce something soon.
One prominent theory within the community of fans is that “The Isle Dragon Roars” is probably what Bravely Default 2’s subtitle will be. According to the filing, Square Enix’s trademark is under the classes 9 and 41, which are usually the classes that studios file video games under. Specifically, 9 is for technology or the physical media, while 41 is meant for products that provide amusement or entertainment.
That being said, Bravely Default 2 is set to release within a couple of weeks, yet the teasers and trailers so far haven’t revealed or hinted at anything that could be related to “The Isle Dragon Roars.” However, this doesn’t necessarily mean that the theory is incorrect, as perhaps Square Enix simply wants to surprise the fans.
A trademark is usually filed when a new product is almost set to launch. For instance, Square Enix recently trademarked “Horimiya,” which is the title of an anime series that’s currently ongoing in Japan, for the use of multiple categories such as stationery, toys, and other merchandise that’s related to the series.
Asides from this, the studio has several patents at the moment for what appears to be an RPG mobile game. The world of video game trademarks and patents can be incredibly confusing, but there are many fans out there who are willing to dive in just to get a glimpse of what the studio has planned.
As for “The Isle Dragon Roars,” fans will just have to sit back and wait. Square Enix will probably make some kind of announcement or reveal soon, given the fact that it has already started filing trademarks for the title.
