Brutal Legend Delay 'Close Call,' Says Judge

A hearing to determine whether Brutal Legend's release will be delayed in order to allow for a court battle between Activision and developer Double Fine has been pushed back a week, and now the presiding judge is calling the case a "close call."

The hearing was rescheduled to August 6, with the judge saying that his tentative ruling was to deny Activision's request of a delay. According to the Associated Press, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Craig Karlan said he may deny the request because he doesn't think Activision can win its argument.

"I can't say there's a likelihood of success here," said Karlan, who then later admitted: "This is going to be a close call."

Activision is attemping to block the release of Brutal Legend, claiming that it never relinquished the rights to the title before Double Fine signed a new publishing deal with Electronic Arts. Double Fine says that Activision is merely attempting to avoid competing with the game.