Warner Bros. has announced today that it has acquired the rights to the title "FEAR" from Sierra and will be renaming Monolith’s Project Origin to FEAR 2: Project Origin.

In a short video interview with IGN, a representative from Monolith explained that while his company had created the game’s universe, including the game’s primary antagonists Alma and her creator Armacham Technology Corporation, FEAR’s publisher, Sierra, had created the name. When Monolith was bought by Warner Bros. in 2004, Monolith took with it the universe and rights to develop further titles in it, and Sierra held onto the name.

Without the "FEAR" moniker, Monolith was forced to hold a contest that gave fans the opportunity to choose the next game in the series, which was at that time dubbed a "spiritual successor" to the original FEAR. The title "Project Origin" was chosen, and Monolith began investing in it.

Sierra, rumored to have begun development on FEAR 2, was recently swept under the Activision rug with parent company Vivendi Universal. Many of Sierra’s titles were removed from Activision’s release schedule shortly after acquisition, and Monolith undoubtedly saw an opportunity to reclaim the name "FEAR" for its familiarity with gamers.

It’s uncertain whether Sierra has merely licensed the name to Monolith or sold their stake entirely, but regardless, it’s good to see Monolith getting full reign over an IP which they built from the ground up. I love horror games of all sorts, and make an event out of playing them: with the original FEAR, I locked myself in my office and played through the game in lights-out marathon sessions. Monolith should be proud of what they’ve accomplished with the franchise, even if it was a horrendously linear affair, and I’m already prepping my office for the release of FEAR 2: Project Origin.

Anyone else as thrilled as Monolith about the re-naming?