The War Z renamed Infestation: Survivor Stories

Hammerpoint Interactive has renamed its online zombie shooter The War Z to Infestation: Survivor Stories.

The move follows a trademark dispute over the novel and film of a similar name, World War Z.

The studio said although it had been reluctant to change the name of the game given it had garnered almost one million players, it felt a new title was better to avoid confusion between the two brands.

“Effective today, The War Z has changed its name to Infestation: Survivor Stories,” read a statement from the developer.

“This change has come about primarily as a result of some confusion and trademark issues with a similarly titled property. While we were reluctant to rename the game so long after launch, especially with nearly one million registered players, it was ultimately decided to be in the best interest of our existing community as well as future players in order to eliminate confusion.

“Please rest assured that this will in NO WAY affect you as players. The only difference you will see is the change in logo and website. There will be no interruption of service or change in content.”

Infestation received a hostile reception when it launched on Steam earlier this year, with claims of misleading advertising, forum censorship and its controversial use microtransactions plaguing the title.

The furore surrounding the game resulted in Valve pulling game sales on Steam, although it has since been reinstated for sale.