Last Friday, Korean game developer PUBG Corp, a subsidiary of Bluehole, filed a copyright violation lawsuit against Epic Games, asking a court to determine whether the latter’s Fortnite was copied from the former’s PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds. A PUBG official said Friday that the firm filed an injunction, alleging copyright infringement, with the Seoul Central District Court against Epic Games Korea (not the North American head office).
Released in July 2017, Fortnite, a first-person shooter (FPS) game, has recently become popular around the world, threatening PUBG that was a great hit in the global game market last year. When Fortnite was first launched, the game only had the “Save the World” mode, at which gamers build walls and defended it. But in September, the Free-to-Play “Battle Royale” mode was added, provoking allegations that it copied items and UI from PUBG.
When the controversy flared in September, Bluehole said in a statement that the firm was mulling ways on how to respond to the claims that core elements and UI of the “Battle Royale” mode of Fortnite seemed to be similar to those of PUBG. Bluehole added that it was regrettable that Epic Games, which was a partner, had released a similar game. Epic Games is currently preparing to launch Fortnite in South Korea with Neowiz Games.
With Fortnite’s sudden rise and claiming the throne as most popular game over Player Unknown’s Battlegrounds, the team at PUBG Corp admitted recently it is lagging behind the competitor despite the head start. PUBG Corp also filed a lawsuit against Chinese developer NetEase over copyright infringement, which was announced to the public early last month.
