‘PUBG’ Files Lawsuit Against ‘Fortnite’ In South Korea Over Copyright Infringement
The battle between Battle Royale mainstays Fortnite and PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds is heading from consoles and PCs to the courtroom. Korean developer PUBG Corp filed a copyright lawsuit earlier this year against Epic Games alleging Fortnite: Battle Royale has copied aspects
The Korea Times reports that PUBG Corp filed the copyright infringement lawsuit against Epic Games Korea this past January with the Seoul Central District Court. This was around the same time Epic Games and Neowiz Games signed an agreement to launch Fortnite in PC rooms, popular internet café-like locations that charge an hourly rate to play, in the country.
PUBG parent corporation Bluehole expressed disappointment with Epic Games last year over the release of Fortnite: Battle Royale, as previously covered by Inquisitr.
“We’ve had an ongoing relationship with Epic Games throughout PUBG’s development as they are the creators of UE4, the engine we licensed for the game,” Bluehole VP and executive producer Chang Han Kim said last September. “After listening to the growing feedback from our community and reviewing the gameplay for ourselves, we are concerned that Fortnite may be replicating the experience for which PUBG is known.”
The executive went on to say the PUBG studio was contemplating further action. That action is now being executed and will be something to keep an eye on.
There are obvious similarities between PUBG and Fortnite: Battle Royale, starting with the 100-man player count, dropping from the sky onto an island, plus supply drops and an ever-shrinking circle of death that forces players together. However, the graphics and gunplay are noticeably different, while Fortnite‘s ability to harvest resources and construct fortifications has been a huge differentiating factor.
PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds was released first in March, 2017, to Steam Early Access on the PC where it quickly became popular thanks to viral marketing from streamers. It has gone on to sell more than 40 million copies on the platform with an addition 4 million on the Xbox One.
Fortnite was in development as a co-op survival title by Epic Games for many years. However, the studio launched the free-to-play Battle Royale mode in September, 2017, for the PS4, Xbox One, and PC, where it quickly blew up thanks to its low-cost of entry and more arcade-like gameplay experience.
Market intelligence SuperData released a report last week stating Fornite earned $296 million in April across all platforms, which was $70 million more than the previous month. It is currently the top grossing game on console and ranks at number five on the PC chart. Meanwhile, PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds is number nine on the PC chart.
