C-C-C-Combo Breaker.
Lol everybody blaming the wrong people.
I can’t imagine Microsoft would want to buy it with other options. They could work around the name or they could just wait for the Fox trademark to expire as I cannot imagine Fox would renew it for a series with no interest. I’m not sure how long trademarks last in the US but the work around name is probably more viable.
It won’t stop them doing whatever they are doing with the franchise if they are developing a new game or working on HD versions for XBLA. Its just a name which they will either change or wait on. If it is a new game I expect they want it as an exclusive launch title for the next console. Either way they probably won’t wait too long for Fox’s TM to just expire so a work around on the name is more likely.
If it is XBLA then they could probably be able to call it Killer Instinct HD. If it is a new title then it would be a reboot so they would want to call it something along the lines of just “Killer Instinct”.
I smell massive contradictions here.
I’ve seen plenty of other things that were cleared in these exact same circumstances.