Fallout 4 Parent Company Sued Over "Repugnant" Ads

ZeniMax--the parent company of Fallout 4 publisher Bethesda--is being sued over ads that the claimant says are "repugnant and morally indefensible." The lawsuit comes from singer-songwriter Dion DiMucci, whose song "The Wanderer" is used in the trailer in question. You can take a look at it above.

The California lawsuit says: "Defendant's commercials were objectionable because they featured repeated homicides in a dark, dystopian landscape, where violence is glorified as sport. The killings and physical violence were not to protect innocent life, but instead were repugnant and morally indefensible images designed to appeal to young consumers."

DiMucci apparently entered an agreement with record label Universal Music Group that his song could be used in Fallout 4 ads. Under the terms of the agreement, DiMucci argues he had the right to prohibit the use of his song unless his terms were met first. However, the suit says ZeniMax failed to bargain with DiMucci separately and did not obtain his permission, meaning DiMucci did not have the chance to request scripting changes "so that, for instance, they instead told the story of a post-apocalyptic struggle for survival without craven violence."

"Alternately," the suit continues, "he could have priced into his fee adequate compensation to safeguard himself against the potential loss of goodwill from being associated with the immoral images in Defendant's scripts."

The suit seeks damages "in excess of $1 million." GameSpot has contacted Bethesda for comment.

This is not the only legal case ZeniMax finds itself involved in: Id Software co-founder John Carmack is suing the media company for $22.5 million. The case follows a decision in February when a jury awarded ZeniMax $500 million in a lawsuit over the creation of the Oculus Rift VR headset. For more, check out our interview with Oculus' VP of Content (and Naughty Dog co-founder) Jason Rubin.