Activision has sued Brutal Legend developer Double Fine Productions in a bid to stop the title being released.
According to an Associated Press report, the lawsuit claims that Double Fine transferred rights owned by the publisher to its rival EA, which plans to release the title later this year.
Activision says that it invested around $15 million in the action adventure title and still has a right to release the game.
The chances of the game ever being released was previously put in question after Activision dropped a number of titles from the Sierra publishing label following its merger with Vivendi Games.
After losing its publishing deal with Sierra, Double Fine teamed with EA Partners to publish the title, which has comedian Jack Black playing the main character.
Responding to Activision's suit, Double Fine president Tim Schafer told Kotaku: "Hey, if Activision liked it, then they should have put a ring on it. Oh great, now Beyoncé is going to sue me too."