Joining a list of artists including No Doubt and Courtney Love, Guns ‘N Roses frontman Axl Rose is suing Activision for a total sum of $20 million, in response to the in-game appearance of former GNR guitarist Slash in Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock.
According to court documents obtained by Reuters, Rose claims that he authorized the inclusion of the GNR song “Welcome to the Jungle” on the condition that the game would not include any reference to the former band member, or his subsequent activities in Velvet Revolver. According to Rose, Activision broke this agreement when they included an in-game likeness of Slash and featured songs by Velvet Revolver, which we released as DLC shortly after he game hit store shelves. Additionally, Activision used the likeness of Slash to promote the game by placing it on the cover of the game, and by featuring him on-stage during the performance of Welcome to the Jungle.
Axl Rose and Saul Hudson, more commonly known as Slash, have been in conflict ever since Slash left the iconic rockband in 1996. Activision has not yet formally responded to the lawsuit.