A frankly bizarre story popped up over the weekend which suggests that Blizzard Entertainment could be hard at work on a new game from the old Redneck Rampage first-person shooter series. According to IncGamers, Blizzard is now the owner of the three trademarks Redneck Rampage, Redneck Rampage Rides Again, and Redneck Rampage Suckin' Grits on Route 66.
Redneck Rampage was originally published by Interplay back in 1998 and the game was designed by Xatrix Entertainment, later known as Gray Matter Interactive, former creators of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2; Quake II: The Reckoning; Return to Castle Wolfenstein; and Call of Duty 2: Big Red One. Activision then went on to purchase the studio in January 2002.

The Redneck Rampage trademark was then subsequently acquired by Vivendi Universal in July 2004 and the latest trademark notices for Redneck Rampage, which are listed as 'active', show that Blizzard Entertainment has now secured the rights to Redneck Rampage.
Blizzard made headlines again recently when it was uncovered that a secret, fifth new project is currently underway. How much of a stretch is it that this project might be a new addition to this odd shooter series remains to be seen.

Rednecks spotted at Blizzard's compound in Irvine, CA?



Bryn says: I'm filing this one under "highly unlikely." With its triple-A reputation to uphold, I find it incredibly hard to believe that Blizzard would come down to the level of these old, silly-themed shooters. It doesn't make much sense to me. Unless, of course, Blizzard is somehow desperate to gain access to the budget game market.

But the question still remains: Why does a developer of such high regard now own the trademarks to a daft franchise like Redneck Rampage?