PUBG to Sue Epic Games for Fortnite: Battle Royale

PUBG, the developer of the popular battle royale game and subsidiary of Bluehole, has filed a copyright violation lawsuit against Epic Games for Fortnite.

First reported by the Korean Times, a PUBG official stated that "We filed the suit to protect our copyright in January" via an injunction, alleging copyright infringement, with the Seoul Central District Court against Epic Games Korea.

PlayerUknown's Battlegrounds features a 100-man battle royale, similar to that of the Japanese movie Battle Royale. PUBG would go on to achieve massive success, being the highest selling game of 2017. In September of last year, Fortnite added a battle royale mode to their building-adventure game. This free-to-play game mode would later exceed PUBG in overall popularity. The similarities between the two modes would provoke controversy, inciting allegations of plagiarism.

Bluehole had previously expressed a consideration of legal action, claiming that core elements and UI of the battle royale mode were infringing on those of PUBG. They also noted that it was Epic Games, an established partner with Bluehole, would release such a game.