I thought this game was titled “Ion Maiden”. Why did the name change?

Iron Maiden's lawyers threatened to sue them and they didn't wanna get stuck in a long drawn out legal battle.

Ah, thanks! That’s a real shame. I used to be a big Iron Maiden fan, but now I’m not so sure. It’s pretty lousy, considering they didn’t even use the exact same name, not to mention the fact that an iron maiden was an actual thing that existed long before the band.

Also because people, bands, or companies are not supposed to own words. The English dictionary is short enough that we'd be very soon running out of words to use if they were assigned to companies.. Trademarks are supposed to provide limited protection in a field. It's totally ok to make Apple or Delta hammers because making hammers isn't Apple's or Delta Airlines' industry.

I don't think Iron Maiden really had a case here, but the game devs (or their publisher) probably didn't want to spend time & money on a court battle and so they were effectively bullied into giving up something they didn't have to give up.

That's kind of the worst part, if it were a cover band using the name "Ion Maiden", they might have some basis for action. In this case no one would ever think it's a game produced by or about the band, and are they even still a perfoming band today?

Unfortunate, but that was their best move since it wouldn't be preferable to wait another year or more until litigation was settled, then change the name anyway after losing all their money.

Most unfortunate, this new controversy has the precedence of them having to back down before which makes it harder to defend against.

Yeah, they're still performing, but Bruce's voice can't quite reach some of the notes he did in the 80s and 90s anymore. But yeah, that action was probably not good for the band's reputation. They really had nothing to lose by letting a game take a similar name, and if anything it could have possibly gain them some positive publicity if it sparked an interest in younger people. If I was Bruce, I probably would have seen about signing a deal with the company and see if they could get their game to feature Eddie!

People were mistaking Ion Maiden for an Iron Maiden game apperantly.... But I call bs, I bet it was trolls doing that for shits and giggles and Iron Maiden actully took it serious. That's what I think.
But think it was a smart move to change the name to not get stuck in a dispute as mentioned before.

I went to a few Iron Maiden specific things and left a **** you message for them because of this pedantic childish lawyer crap.

That's actually a really good idea, the kind of forward thinking that would have made everyone happy, maybe put a digitized/midi song on the menu or coming from a radio or car in-game, Maiden posters, etc. Can't blame either side for the knee-jerk reaction(s) I guess, but just makes you wish people would think before acting.