Heavy metal adventure game Brutal Legend was left without a publisher when Activision merged with Vivendi to form Activision Blizzard in July. Months later, the game is still an orphan and people have started to point fingers.

Sources at Double Fine Entertainment, the developer of Brutal Legend, have told Variety that other publishers are interested but that Activision Blizzard "an impediment" and that they're "blocking the process." Well, the first part is believable - the game is the brainchild of Full Throttle/Psychonauts designer Tim Schafer and the main character is voiced by Jack Black so it's got quality and star power on its side. It's not surprising publishers would be interested. Plus, there's gotta be some sort of movement in the first place for Activision Blizzard to be accused of impeding it.

There's no detail from the sources on how Activision Blizzard is "blocking" the acquisition of the game by another publisher, though. Could be just that they're not moving as quickly as Double Fine wants. Kind of tough to gauge the situation based solely on anonymous sources from one side of the fence. Well, hopefully everyone works out their differences and is bettered by the experience, after-school special style.

Brutal Legend is a third-person action adventure game in which players control Eddie Riggs, a heavy metal band's roadie. After a freak guitar tuning accident, he's transported to a rock and roll fantasy world where humanity is enslaved by demons. Using his guitar and battle axe, he does battle with hellspawns, emo kids, glam rockers, and more. Double Fine is planning on releasing it for PS3 and Xbox 360.