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PUBG and Epic Games, Makers of Two of the World's Most Popular Video Games, Set To Battle in Court (bloomberg.com)

Posted by msmash on from the may-the-best-one-wins dept.

PUBG, an affiliate of South Korean studio Bluehole, is suing the Korean unit of North Carolina-based Epic Games, arguing that its smash hit Fortnite copies many of the characteristics of its own PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds. The suit, alleging copyright infringement, was filed in South Korea. From a report: PUBG introduced its game last year and it became a huge hit as players embraced the Hunger Games-style concept in which 100 players race to kill each other until there's a sole survivor. But the game's features have been embraced by rivals, prompting earlier legal action. Fortnite has a similar concept of 100 people competing with each other, but differs by letting players build fortifications similar to Minecraft and using more cartoon-like graphics aimed at younger players "This is a measure to protect our copyrights," PUBG said, declining to provide further details. Epic Games didn't immediately respond to requests for comment. The two companies have a complicated relationship. Epic Games provides PUBG with its Unreal Engine technology, which was used to create PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds. The software is instrumental in building games and is the industry-standard for professional games developers. Both companies are also partly owned by Tencent Holdings, China's internet giant.

3 of 174 comments (clear)

  1. Re: Hunger games? by mckwant · · Score: 3, Interesting

    The genre doesn't deserve such a fine provenance, but I think it was from the Japanese film that spawned the competition portion of The Hunger Games.

    https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0...

    I enjoyed it. Your tastes may differ greatly, but if you're ok with stylized hyper-violence, I'd recommend it.

    --
    ceci n'est pas un sig.
  2. The PUBG crew is on crack. by Qbertino · · Score: 3, Interesting

    This is so abysmally stupid I can hardly believe it. PUBG is basically a better asset flip. The only thing that it has going is a neat new game mechanic and a reason to multiplay on a larger map. Other than that there is zilch innovation in the game. PUBG is going to lose big time. Indie Game critic Jim Sterling did a perfect analysis of this situation.

    --
    We suffer more in our imagination than in reality. - Seneca
  3. Re:Bad plan by nitehawk214 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    PUBG are the same idiots that thought they could copyright the concept of using a frying pan as a weapon, or using default graphics assets.

    So, yeah, they are probably that stupid.

    --
    I'm a good cook. I'm a fantastic eater. - Steven Brust