Ubisoft files Killing Day, Driver trademarks

By Tom Magrino, GameSpotPosted May 27, 2009 4:34 pm PT

French publisher puts in USPTO claims for long-dormant first-person shooter, racing franchises.

Sony's 2005 Electronic Entertainment Expo press conference was dominated by one big reveal: the PlayStation 3. To give gamers an idea of the kind of support that the PS3 would receive on launch, Sony also trotted out a slew of demos for in-development PS3 games, not the least of which were heavily hyped exclusives such as Killzone 2, Heavenly Sword, and Warhawk.

And then tomorrow is Laundry Day.

One other game to briefly surface during the torrent of demos was Ubisoft's Killing Day (seen at the 1:44:00 mark), a flashy first-person shooter that featured a swarthy, tattooed gangster eradicating unfriendlies while dual-wielding pistols. The shooter appeared to emphasize destructible environments, and one scene from the demo showed the player shooting out a glass-paned floor on which two enemies were standing, causing them to fall to their apparent demise.

After the game's notable reveal, Ubisoft went dark on Killing Day, which led many to believe that the shooter had itself been snuffed out in development. That now appears not to be the case, given that the name "Killing Day" is among a handful of recent trademark applications that Ubisoft has filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

Ubisoft also filed applications for the names "Driver: The Recruit" and "C.O.P.: The Recruit." In 2006, Ubisoft picked up the Driver license from Atari, which unloaded the IP and its developer Reflections Interactive for €19 million (then $24 million, now $26 million). As part of a BBC interview in June 2008, Ubisoft revealed that Reflections was at work on a new installment in the Driver franchise, the first since 2006's lackluster Driver: Parallel Lines.

As with other applications of this ilk, all three filings carried descriptors for "game software and electronic game programs, namely, software games recorded on CD-ROM and digital video discs for computers." Ubisoft had not responded to requests for comment on the filings as of press time.

Conveniently enough, the filings come as the industry gears up for the 2009 Electronic Entertainment Expo, which runs June 1-4 in Los Angeles. Ubisoft is expected to deliver its E3 press conference at 5 p.m. on Monday, June 1, and GameSpot will be on hand to report on news from the event as it happens.

84 Comments

  • SQUALL20XX

    Posted Jun 9, 2009 11:41 am PT

    looks nice to me

  • SSBFan12

    Posted Jun 7, 2009 8:12 am PT

    I am going to pass on this game.

  • PSFreak1

    Posted Jun 3, 2009 6:32 am PT

    i hope their good

  • Scianix-Black

    Posted Jun 2, 2009 3:13 pm PT

    I'm hoping Killing Day is anything like GTAIV.

    If it's even half that game, it should be good.

  • gmax Site moderator

    Posted Jun 2, 2009 8:38 am PT

    Yep. Laundry Day. Totally.

  • blink-jfg

    Posted Jun 2, 2009 6:53 am PT

    Glad to see that Killing Day is also back on the radar, haven't seen anything new on this game since before the PS3's release, and with the new Driver game. I myself though Driver Parallel Lines was a good game. Unlike Driv3r which would have been good were it not for the many bugs that plagued the entire game.

  • _AbBaNdOn

    Posted Jun 1, 2009 9:35 pm PT

    I like Ubisoft steppig up and cranking out so many games, it gives hope to the gaming industry lol. More driver games through....the first couple were fun but if they try to go the GTA route they are going to be dead in the water. Rockstar and Volition Inc. have been doing it longer and are pushing very hard forward. Theres no chance for other people to catch up. It will be interesting to see what affect Ubi has on Reflection and what the new driver is like....

  • DarkNeoBahamut

    Posted Jun 1, 2009 2:24 pm PT

    it's.......interesting

  • borninvincible

    Posted Jun 1, 2009 9:45 am PT

    interesting...

  • louiswheato2k8

    Posted Jun 1, 2009 8:27 am PT

    so is there a new driver games or wa ?

  • k_daredevil

    Posted Jun 1, 2009 6:44 am PT

    and man i think killing day will kick ass!!!
    the first time i saw the trailer around 3 years ago i was just stunned!!! but i dunno why activision went dark about the game for 3 years?

  • k_daredevil

    Posted Jun 1, 2009 6:40 am PT

    i'm so happy atari is not going to ruin the driver legacy again ,the first two were great but drv3r and parallel lines were really bad!!!
    some of the best games in the world are published by atari but sometimes they just destroy potential games by releasing them too soon and unpolished!! you remember boiling point? it could become a classic but was really bottlenecked by countless bugs!!!

  • Gamer4Iife

    Posted Jun 1, 2009 5:51 am PT

    Looks alright...

  • shinian

    Posted Jun 1, 2009 3:59 am PT

    I hope that the new driver will be a lot, I mean a lot better than Driv3r

  • joejaybate

    Posted Jun 1, 2009 3:05 am PT

    Waluigi73, i know you probably wont even check back to see if any one does think you're annoying but i think you got your wires crossed with what ZamatoElite was saying; He said that the "past DRIVER games" suck not "DRIVING" games, so think he was talking about the franchise to which this new game belongs. I played the first one like 10 years ago one the PS1 and i enjoyed it but can't comment on the follow on games, oh and no i have not played wheelman.

  • ognen

    Posted Jun 1, 2009 1:11 am PT

    This game is "being released" for ages

  • Waluigi73

    Posted May 31, 2009 8:03 pm PT

    to ZamatoElite,
    what about wheelman! that game definnately does NOT SUCK.try not to take this seriously, but don't just say "the past '-----' games" and "suck" in the same sentance. i do agree that alot of driving games do suck, but i mean wheelman is a combination of driving, crime, and adventure. that was a smart move from ubisoft to make wheelman.- go ubisoft!!!!! ........ am i being annoying? i do think i may have some sort of problem. tell me if i am annoying, but i dont want to change the subject on this. tell me if anyone else likes to play wheelman.

  • chilipepperman

    Posted May 31, 2009 12:21 pm PT

    well this was not helpful at all, told me nothing i didnt already know

  • ZamatoElite

    Posted May 31, 2009 7:40 am PT

    Hopefully this won't suck as bad as the past driver games.

  • the_greenzero

    Posted May 30, 2009 11:36 am PT

    Hope they show Killing Day at E3

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