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Gears of War creator and ex-Epic Games developer Cliff Bleszinski took to social media this week, venting his frustration at his former employer for not relinquishing ownership of Jazz Jackrabbit, the first character created by Bleszinski in the dawning days of his storied career.
Released in 1994, Jazz Jackrabbit was part of the post-Sonic anthropomorphic mascot craze, though the green-furred, gun-blasting bunny fell more into the "C-tier" popularity file, residing somewhere beneath characters such as Zool, Bubsy the Bobcat, and GEX, but still existing on a plane above Aero the Acro-bat and frikkin' Soccer Kid.
Most recently, Jazz Jackrabbit appeared in Epic Games' money-and-soul sucking juggernaut, Fortnite. But while Bleszinski notes that he does still earn residuals from Jazz's use, ol' CliffyB also insists that he retained ownership of the bandana-sporting bunny when joining the company, a claim that Epic hotly disputes. A statement from Epic Games to tech outlet Dexerto reads:
"Epic owns the Jazz Jackrabbit IP. We pay 100% of revenue generated by the Jazz Jackrabbit games on Gog.com to the four individuals who developed the game, including Cliff Bleszinski."
It seems Jazz may have fallen into a trap that many IPs across gaming, media, and even toy design have found themselves in since time immemorial: the hoary old "Do we own all your ideas when we own you?" debate. Just ask former Mattel employee Carter Bryant about Bratz.
"After lawyering up Epic claims they fully own the rights to Jazz Jackrabbit and won't back down in spite of not having any paperwork to prove it (nor do I) in spite of the fact that they still pay me from sales of it on GoG (which means paperwork exists somewhere) and are still happy to monetize him in [Fortnite].
"So, if I get around to doing a new one expect the "spiritual sequel" route. Business is business, I suppose." - Cliff Bleszinski
Bleszinski notes that he has sketches of Jazz Jackrabbit going as far back as his teenage years, but without written documentation proving that he (or, for that matter, Epic) owns the harried hare, it seems custody of Jazz Jackrabbit remains in limbo - or, more accurately, in the hands of the party with the most lawyers.
Jazz Jackrabbit is available now via the Jazz Jackrabbit Collection on GOG.com.