Axl Rose sues Activision for $20 million

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Lawsuit is about “holding Activision accountable for its misuse of these incredibly valuable assets,” says Rose’s lawyer

Guns N' Roses front man Axl Rose is suing Activision for $20 million dollars for the alleged misuse of the band's songs in 2007's Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock.

The lawsuit filed to Los Angeles Superior Court yesterday, claims that Activision failed to live up to its promise of excluding any and all references to Rose's estranged band mate Slash from the game in exchange for permission to use Guns N' Roses' iconic song, 'Welcome to the Jungle.' Of course, as gamers well know, Slash was featured prominently in the game, even coming in as a 'boss' character, tall hat and all.

"[Activision] began spinning a web of lies and deception to conceal its true intentions to not only feature Slash and VR prominently in GH III but also promote the game by emphasizing and reinforcing an association between Slash and Guns N' Roses and the band's song 'Welcome to the Jungle,' " reads an excerpt from the complaint.

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Matt Bradford

Matt Bradford wrote news and features here at GamesRadar+ until 2016. Since then he's gone on to work with the Guinness World Records, acting as writer and researcher for the annual Gamer's Edition series of books, and has worked as an editor, technical writer, and voice actor. Matt is now a freelance journalist and editor, generating copy across a multitude of industries.