Brütal Legend has had a rocky road to release ever since its 2007 announcement. First it was dropped by original publisher Activision when they merged with Vivendi. Then EA, in an incredibly smart move, picked up the Double Fine-developed rock and roll adventure, and have marketed the hell out of it ever since, making it one of the most anticipated games of the year. After rumors of Activision essentially trying to cock block Brütal Legend’s release, a full-blown lawsuit emerged during E3, with Activision suing Double Fine for some nonsense. Tim Schafer’s well reasoned response: “If Activision loved it, they should have put a ring on it.”

Throughout everything, Tim Schafer and the team at Double Fine have maintained that the game would be fine and, in recent months, that it would make its promised Rocktober release date. Apparently done with Activision’s bullshit, Double Fine is now striking back, countersuing the publisher for being a bunch of pricks. Okay, there’s probably a bit more legal mumbo jumbo involved in the case; as a Double Fine rep told Joystiq, “Double Fine's countersuit is a demonstration of our intention to fight for this game - Activision will not kill Brütal Legend.”

Hell yeah, they won’t! Interestingly, the lawsuit alleges that Brütal Legend was dropped because Activision tried and failed to merge it with another Guitar Hero title. This seems right in line with Bobby Kotick’s now infamous comment about Activision only wanting games that they could exploit. Double Fine wants a judge’s ruling that they were freed from their contract with Activision when Brütal Legend was dropped, so they can go about their business, make an awesome game, and never have to deal with this poppycock again.

Again, I’m no law-type person, so I can’t say how the case will go, but I’m hoping everything turns out well for Double Fine. This isn’t just because I’m really excited for Brütal Legend (which I am), but I’m also a huge supporter of Double Fine and Tim Schafer especially, since I’ve been playing his games for nearly two decades. I really want to see this game do well, and maybe Activision will learn something about not dropping games that look creative and innovative (and have an industry legend of Schafer attached). Or maybe they’ll continue to exploit all of their franchises into the ground as Bobby Kotick sits atop a pile of money. Only time will tell.