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The folks behind PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds is suing Fortnite. Really?

by: John -
More On: Fortnite PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds

In what I think is one of the silliest lawsuits in video game history, the makers of PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds is suing Epic, makers of Fortnite alleging copyright infringement. Sigh.

Throughout the history of video games, companies borrow from other companies when their game becomes popular. It's happened since the dawn of time and there have been many arcade games back in the day that took a spin off of a popular one. 

There's nothing unique about PUBG here. In fact, while PUBG came out in March of 2017, there was already a Battle Royale game on the market that was in Early Access in January of 2015. Let's take a look at the description for H1Z1 from Wikipedia:

H1Z1 is a battle royale game in which up to 150 players compete against each other in a last man standing deathmatch. Players can choose to play solo, in a duo, or in groups of five, with the goal of being the final person or final team remaining.

Players start each match by parachuting in from a random location above the map. Once they land, they must search for a way to defend themselves. This can take the form of anything from grabbing a weapon and actively hunting other players, to hiding while other players kill one another. Vehicles are placed throughout the world, allowing players to chase down opponents or make a quick getaway. Players can scavenge a variety of supplies from their surroundings, including weapons, equipment, and first aid kits. The game also features a crafting system that allows players to create makeshift tools, such as deconstructing scavenged items into functional bandages or body armor.

As the game progresses, a toxic gas cloud compresses the map, dealing damage to players who remain in it. This effectively makes the playable portion of the map smaller, so that players are eventually forced to confront one another in close quarters. The gas spreads in timed increments, dealing a greater degree of damage in the later stages of the match.

Sounds familiar doesn't it? There's probably other games that predate PUBG that has a similar setup. You don't see them coming after Bluehole.

Ironically, PUBG is made using the Unreal Engine, a game engine by the company they are suing. 

Maybe if Bluehole would make it, I don't know, more fun instead of trying to use its resources to sue another company, they wouldn't be losing players to Fortnite. We'll see how this plays out, but I don't think it's going to get very far.