Nevada: Slot Maker Aristocrat Sues PAYDAY Publisher Starbreeze Over ‘Payday’ Casino Game Names

Slot machine maker Aristocrat has sued Starbreeze, the Swedish publisher of the PAYDAY heist shooters, in federal court in Las Vegas. It wants a judge to rule that its “Payday” casino games do not infringe Starbreeze’s trademarks.

The complaint, filed October 28, 2026, in federal court in Nevada (No. 2:26-cv-03573-JAD-BNW), also accuses Starbreeze of false advertising. Aristocrat says the publisher tells U.S. players that “PAYDAY is a registered trademark of STARBREEZE” when it holds no U.S. registration for the word PAYDAY on its own.

Four Aristocrat companies, including Las Vegas-based Aristocrat Technologies Inc., are suing New Starbreeze Publishing AB and two American subsidiaries. What follows from the complaint is Aristocrat’s account; Starbreeze has not yet answered it in court. In its October filings with the trademark board, Starbreeze says three of its U.S. registrations are incontestable and that it also holds common-law rights in PAYDAY from use since at least 2011.

Payday slots and PAYDAY heist games

Aristocrat says it has used Payday names on slot games, gaming machines and online casino games since at least 2012, including OPERATION: PIGGY PAYDAY. Its other names include PIGGIE PAYDAY, LUCKY DUCKY BIG PAYDAY and PAGODA PAYDAY. It says the games go mainly to licensed casinos and reach adults through age-gated channels.

The PAYDAY video game series dates back to 2011. PAYDAY: The Heist launched on October 20, 2011, PAYDAY 2 on August 13, 2013, and PAYDAY 3 on September 21, 2023, according to their Steam pages.

Aristocrat argues the products are very different. Its games are built around chance and wagering, while PAYDAY is a cooperative first-person shooter that, the complaint says, does not involve wagering. It says the names have existed side by side for at least 14 years with no confusion that it knows of.

An email offer to “waive all claims”

According to the complaint, the fight began this summer. In an August 26 email, Starbreeze’s lawyer demanded that Aristocrat withdraw its applications and/or cancel its registrations. Aristocrat was also told not to register any mark containing PAYDAY in Classes 9 or 41, the categories that broadly cover game software and entertainment or gaming services.

The complaint quotes the email as saying that, provided Aristocrat complied, “New Starbreeze will waive all claims relating to Aristocrat use of PAYDAY marks prior to execution of the agreement.” Aristocrat reads that as a warning that Starbreeze believes it already has infringement claims. It refused the demands.

On October 14, Starbreeze filed Opposition No. 91311159 against two Aristocrat applications, PICNIC PAYDAY and BIG DAY PAYDAY. Both cover online games of chance, casino gaming and wagering services.

The same day, it filed a petition to cancel the PAGODA PAYDAY registration, which covers downloadable game software. Both filings say Aristocrat’s use and registration of the names “will inevitably lead to confusion, to mistake, or to deception of the public.” Aristocrat’s answers are due December 13 and December 14.

Aristocrat says that board, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, can only decide who may register a mark, not whether using it infringes. So it asked the court for a declaratory judgment, a ruling that states the parties’ legal rights, so Aristocrat does not have to wait and see whether Starbreeze sues it for infringement.

None of Starbreeze’s earlier Payday cases reached a trial decision

In both October filings, Starbreeze points to four earlier board cases over Payday names and says each ended in its favor. Game Empress checked each one on the board’s own docket system.

Three ended after the board issued a notice of default, meaning the other side did not answer in time. They were the oppositions to PAYDAY PICNIC (decided July 2023) and SUPER HIT BASEBALL: PAYDAY (February 2026), and the petition that cancelled PROSPECTOR PAYDAY (February 2026).

The fourth, against Everi Games’ THE VAULT PAYDAY, ran for 18 months, including settlement talks, until Everi withdrew its application with consent in November 2025. Everi had answered the opposition in June 2024 and amended its answer in May 2025. The board logged it as “opp dismissed w/ prej,” not the “opp sustained” entry seen in the other two oppositions. None of the four went to a trial decision.

The “registered trademark” line Aristocrat is targeting

The false-advertising claim centers on paydaythegame.com, which Aristocrat calls Starbreeze’s U.S.-facing website. Aristocrat says the site puts the ® symbol right after PAYDAY and states that “PAYDAY is a registered trademark of STARBREEZE.”

When Game Empress checked paydaythegame.com on November 2, the footer read: “PAYDAY is a registered trademark of STARBREEZE.” The legal notice on the PAYDAY 3 Steam page, checked the same day, says “Payday is a registered trademark of STARBREEZE.” The complaint quotes only the website, though it says the same claim reaches buyers through digital storefronts and advertising. It does not quote the Steam notice.

Patent and Trademark Office records support one part of Aristocrat’s account. Starbreeze’s application for PAYDAY alone, Serial No. 79365323, was filed on January 16, 2023. The office suspended it in March 2024, and a check on April 22, 2026, found it “still suspended.”

The U.S. registrations Starbreeze cites in its board filings cover PAYDAY THE HEIST, PAYDAY 2 VR and the stylized PAYDAY 2 and PAYDAY 3 logos. The lawsuit is about U.S. rights only. Starbreeze’s corporate website says “PAYDAY” is a registered trademark of Starbreeze AB (publ), without naming a country.

What Aristocrat is asking the court to do

Aristocrat brings three claims: a request for a ruling that it does not infringe, false advertising under the federal Lanham Act, and deceptive trade practices under Nevada law.

It wants the court to declare that its Payday names do not infringe any valid Starbreeze trademark, and that 12 of its registrations and applications are not adversely affected by any right Starbreeze claims. It also seeks damages to be set at trial and has asked for a jury.

The docket shows the case was randomly assigned to U.S. District Judge Jennifer A. Dorsey and Magistrate Judge Brenda Weksler. Bryce K. Kunimoto of Holland & Hart represents Aristocrat. Summonses were issued on October 29, and proof of service is due by January 26, 2027.

CourtListener’s copy of the docket, last updated October 30 and checked November 2, showed no response from Starbreeze and no lawyer listed for it. Its response is not due until after it is formally served.

Unlike the loot box and child-safety cases in our Gaming Law Tracker, this dispute is not about how PAYDAY is played. It is about whether a heist game series and a line of casino games can both carry the word Payday in their names. That question is now in front of both a federal judge and the trademark board.

Featured image: a PAYDAY 3 screenshot from the game’s official Steam store page. Image: Starbreeze / Steam.

Update, Nov. 3: This article was revised to attribute more statements to the complaint, add Starbreeze’s position from its trademark board filings and clarify the earlier board cases.

Featured image: a PAYDAY 3 screenshot from the game’s official Steam store page. Image: Starbreeze / Steam.

Update, Nov. 3: This article was revised to attribute more statements to the complaint, add Starbreeze’s position from its trademark board filings and clarify the earlier board cases.