PUBG devs threaten "action" against Fortnite Battle Royale

[laggyteabag]

So this news story just broke that the developers of the wildly successful Player Unknown's Battlegrounds, Bluehole, is threatening "further action" against Epic Games because of the similarities between PUBG, and Fortnite: Battle Royale.

We've had an ongoing relationship with Epic Games throughout PUBGs development as they are the creators of UE4, the engine we licensed for the game.

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.

We have also noticed that Epic Games references PUBG in the promotion of Fortnite to their community and in communications with the press. This was never discussed with us and we don?t feel that it's right. The PUBG community has and continues to provide evidence of the many similarities as we contemplate further action

Source [http://www.pcgamer.com/pubg-exec-contemplating-further-action-over-fortnite-battle-royale-similarities/?utm_content=buffer80170&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&utm_campaign=buffer_pcgamerfb]

So this is dumb. Like, super dumb.

If Bluehole continue on this path, frankly, I will consider the PR department, and whoever authorised this statement to be an idiot forever.

PUBG is incredibly successful, and that is to be admired. It recently topped the charts on Steam, beating out CS:GO and DOTA 2, which is amazing considering the game's specs, price, and the fact that it still isn't finished.

However, for Bluehole to go after another game for supposedly copying PUBG, despite the fact that PUBG draws from a whole bunch of other games and mods, and even books and movies, is just hilarious.

The differences between PUBG and something like H1Z1: King of the Kill, ARK's ill-fated Survival of the Fittest mode, or a whole bunch of Battle Royale mods are threadbare at best, and that is being generous. Frankly, if Bluehole sues Epic over this, I don't really see what would stop any of these devs from doing the same to Bluehole, because obviously the Battle Royale genre is too unique to be copied.

And the funniest thing about this whole situation is the fact that Epic Games - the developers of Fortnite - are the guys who make Unreal Engine 4, which is the engine that PUBG is based on. Talk about biting the hand that feeds you.

I don't know what it is about Bluehole, but they seem to be allergic to good publicity. Their game is super popular, and people seem to enjoy it, and that is great, but it seems like every other week they are coming out with some controversy that could have easily been avoided.

- First they banned a streamer for teamkilling his friend on stream
- Then they started banning players for killing streamers, because they may have been stream sniping
- Then they slowed down the development cycle, and have stopped doing regular monthly content patches
- Then they added in loot boxes and microtransactions into an Early Access game
- Now this ridiculous concept

Honestly, this is so dumb that I actually feel personally insulted that they think people will get behind this idea. Its utterly stupid.

 

[sXeth]

Yeah, I know what PUBG I've seen that its definitely a class based third person shooter with building and trap elements, and like, laser guns and stuff.

The opening deployment is kind of a knock off, but I guess you could call it an homage too.

PUBG's kind of in a glass house on this one though. The Culling, Ark's SotF mode. DayZ. Rust. Arma 3 itself. Even Minecraft (at least on consoles, they have the Battle royal mode as a packaged thing). They might have the current hit, but they aren't innovators themselves by any means.

 

[Phoenixmgs_v1legacy]

So Epic better start taking action against all the devs that copied Horde Mode, and From Software better take action against all the Souls clones. That would be hilarious if Epic can "unlicense" their UE4 engine from these guys.

There's so much that PUBG copies it's not even funny from the concept to even the little things like the slowly shrinking world all the back in Metal Gear Online.

 

[laggyteabag]

So Epic better start taking action against all the devs that copied Horde Mode, and From Software better take action against all the Souls clones. That would be hilarious if Epic can "unlicense" their UE4 engine from these guys.

There's so much that PUBG copies it's not even funny from the concept to even the little things like the slowly shrinking world all the back in Metal Gear Online.

This is literally on the PUBG wikipedia page

Lead designer Brendan Greene, better known by his online handle PlayerUnknown, had previously created the ARMA 2 mod DayZ: Battle Royale, an offshoot of popular mod DayZ, and inspired by the 2000 film Battle Royale.

He literally copied from at least 3 different sources to inspire his game.

Imitation and iteration of popular things is entirely natural. It is pretty much the exact reason why anything gets made. People imitate and iterate on what they like, adding what they perceive to be improvements, and usually a gimmick, to get something that is unique and original.

In Fortnite's case, they take the PvP permadeath aspect, and the big world with loot everywhere, and then add in item rarity, and base building. Not to mention the drastically different art style. I'd say that Fortnite: Battle Royale does enough differently to deserve existing.

At the very least, I don't see how this is much different than a Fair Use argument - though I am not a lawyer, and I do appreciate that these are two very different fields.

 

[Phoenixmgs_v1legacy]

I'd say that Fortnite: Battle Royale does enough differently to deserve existing.

At the very least, I don't see how this is much different than a Fair Use argument

You don't have to do anything different for it to deserve existing besides for straight up copying code. Same with movies and how The Asylum puts out low-budget copies of Blockbusters like Transmorphers.

 

[McElroy]

"Then they started banning players for killing streamers, because they may have been stream sniping"

That's such an utter bullshit rule. Nobody is forcing you to stream your gameplay.

 

[sXeth]

"Then they started banning players for killing streamers, because they may have been stream sniping"

That's such an utter bullshit rule. Nobody is forcing you to stream your gameplay.

Also no one's forcing you to stream without putting a 5-10 second delay on it that would make something thats already ludicrously difficulty (accurately monitoring 2 screens at once) even more troublesome to do.

I'd have a hard time buying that its a mass problem. These types of games reward avoiding conflict for the most part. Not running to an area that you know has an enemy in it and exhausting resources on fighting them for lulz.

 

[Adam Jensen_v1legacy]

I got no love for Epic, but they have every right to create a similar game.

The devs sound like a bunch of assholes, really. Success has corrupted them. They like the money and they want all of it. Are they still banning players for killing streamers?

I guess I can also understand them to a degree. Fortnite Battle Royale looks like a lot more fun, and it's a free to play title. But this kind of behavior doesn't exactly inspire me to buy PUBG.

 

[Veldel]

Okay this is retarded as fuck. From what I have seen of both games they look nothing alike. Hell one has you build stuff and has crazy storms. The other is a battle royale game. Fucking dumb

 

[kenu12345]

Oh yeah, isn't this the guy putting loot boxes in his in development game. Yeah fuck him. He's a greedy fuck and he has no standing against Epic Games. He just want to grasp at straws for them dollars

 

[laggyteabag]

Okay this is retarded as fuck. From what I have seen of both games they look nothing alike. Hell one has you build stuff and has crazy storms. The other is a battle royale game. Fucking dumb

The reason why the PUBG devs are getting their panties in a twist is because Epic released another version of Fortnite called Fortnite: Battle Royale. This game will be free to play (like the base game of Fortnite will be, eventually), and is also available on consoles now, whereas Xbox One players will have to wait until this Christmas, and PS4 player will have to wait even longer.

Now, to PUBG's credit, the base game mechanics of Fortnite: Battle Royale do look incredibly similar. 100 or so players glide onto one large map, they then have to scavenge around for weapons, ammo, and other types of loot, all whilst a giant circle closes in, and the last player standing wins.

However, the problem with the PUBG devs having a go at this, is because this gameplay loop has been in every Battle Royale game, and is a staple of the genre. It'd be like Activision suing EA for for Battlefield having aim down sights, regenerating health, and progression-based unlocks.

Besides, Fortnite: Battle Royale didn't just stop with the basic loop, and decided to jazz things up, because they added in their own twists on the system, like buildable structures, loot rarities, and destructible buildings and terrain. All features that change up the gameplay in unique and meaningful ways. The game deserves to exist.

 

[Neurotic Void Melody]

These devs are far too complacent in their success and far too greedy to avoid showing utter contempt for their audience. I have little faith that they intend to finish their game when they have no reason to, they maintain no moral footing here. Epic actually completing a far more consumer friendly experience for consoles worries them, and good! Monopolies are never healthy for the buying public. They should re-evaluate their complacency one would hope, assuming this goes nowhere in court.

 

[Zhukov]

While Fortnite's battle royale mode is a shameless rip-off attempting to cash in on the popular craze, having developers get litigious over imitating seems pretty silly at this point. As others have pointed out, they've been ripping each other off for decades.

You make a successful game and a hundred imitators spring up virtually overnight. It's the video game cycle of life. Just look at GTA or Dark Souls.

 

[Mcgeezaks]

You can't copyright a game mode concept, that's like Rockstar suing Deep Silver for Saints Row just because it's a open world sandbox.

 

[InsanityRequiem]

From what I?ve read from Bluehole, it all looks to me that Bluehole is insinuating that due to their ?relationship? with Epic by licensing Unreal from them, Epic somehow copied Bluehole?s code for their game.

Do I believe this? No, but the way Bluehole?s fucking up their PR immensely and their vague comments in regards to Epic and their relationship to them specifically points to that insinuation.

 

[Arnoxthe1]

So Epic better start taking action against all the devs that copied Horde Mode

Epic invented that and Theater mode. UT99 and 2004 both had a basic form of Theater before Halo 3 ever came onto the scene with it. Although to be quite fair, Halo 3's version was a lot more superior to UT99's or even UT2004's way of doing it. With UT, you could not cut clips from videos, you could not rewind to a specific point, videos were not automatically recorded for you, and the server needed to record it itself in order to actually get a full demo file instead of just a recording purely from your point of view if you did it.

 

[Vigormortis]

snip

I can tell you one thing this 'consideration of legal action' is accomplishing...

It's vaguely piqued my interest in downloading and trying Fortnite. If a game can piss off Bluehole this profoundly, just by existing, I HAVE to try it. My shaky relationship and/or less-than-stellar opinion of Epic Games, notwithstanding.

 

[TrulyBritish]

I've noticed quite a few people in this thread don't seem to like Epic Games. Out of interest, why is that? I'm not familiar with any big controversies with that company.

 

[Leg End]

I fucking dare you Blueballs to actually sue. The curbstomp will be glorious.

snip

I can tell you one thing this 'consideration of legal action' is accomplishing...

It's vaguely piqued my interest in downloading and trying Fortnite. If a game can piss off Bluehole this profoundly, just by existing, I HAVE to try it. My shaky relationship and/or less-than-stellar opinion of Epic Games, notwithstanding.

If I had anything to play it on I'd be downloading right now. It actually sounds pretty interesting.

- First they banned a streamer for teamkilling his friend on stream

They fookin what?

- Then they started banning players for killing streamers, because they may have been stream sniping

I still remember the responses from anyone with sense: If you broadcast intel, expect it to be used.

 

[RobertEHouse]

You can't copyright a game mode concept, that's like Rockstar suing Deep Silver for Saints Row just because it's a open world sandbox.

That is something developers forget when they start work on a project, that a concept can not be copyrighted. In this case i think Bluehole leads are not the brightest individuals around,for doing this.If you look at the mechanisms implemented in their own game all of them have been used before just refined. Even the very concept, which they now think was stolen was not able to be copyrighted by law.

They have also decided to play their own stupidity off against Epic, whom are known to counter sue if taken to court in the past. It's like holding a banana in front of a gorilla and teasing it, while still being in the cage with it.