‘Player Unknown’s Battlegrounds,’ ‘Fortnite,’ and the difference

On September 26, Epic Games released a battle royale mode on their pre-existing title, “Fortnite.” The problem? It is very similar to the already-popular “Player Unknown’s Battlegrounds.”

“Fortnite” was initially released on July 25th of this year as a sandbox/survival game. Then, patch 1.6.4 was released on September 26th, which contained the battle royale game mode that has sparked the controversy between Epic Games and Blue Hole.

‘Fortnite’s’ Battle royale

"Fortnite's" new battle royale mode has players compete against one another in a free-for-all deathmatch.

If that sounds familiar, that’s because it is strikingly similar to Blue Hole’s “Player Unknown's Battlegrounds,” which has become extremely popular since its release in March.

While “Fortnite’s” gameplay is extremely similar to “PUBG,” the main similarity between the two titles is the Unreal Engine 4, owned by Epic Games.

Blue Hole obtained the licensing rights from Epic Games for Unreal Engine 4 and proceeded to develop “PUBG” with it. Epic Games then used its engine to do the same thing with their own title, “Fortnite”.

“Fortnite’s” battle royale mode also has one important feature that “PUBG” does not: it’s free. “Player Unknown’s Battlegrounds” costs thirty dollars to own, making it much pricier than Epic Games' cartoonish alternative.

Blue Hole’s concern

Blue Hole, the developers of “Player Unknown’s Battlegrounds,” expressed their discontent regarding the release of Epic Game’s battle royale mode in “Fortnite,” claiming “’Fortnite’ may be replicating the experience for which ‘PUBG’ is known.”

It’s a valid claim. Having played both titles in close proximity to one another, it’s obvious that “Fortnite” took a lot of its features from “PUBG.” From dropping into the map from a flying vehicle, to the time constraints placed on players, to scavenging for weapons and health, the games have an uncanny similarity.

The big differences between “Fortnite” and “PUBG” would be the artwork and a “Minecraft”-like building aspect only present in “Fortnite.” And, honestly, a character’s ability to build a fortress in a free-for-all death-match is a useless feature. It gets players killed more often than it saves them, in my experience.

Despite the similarities between “Fortnite” and “PUBG,” “Fortnite” offers the battle royale experience for free. Having hit over a million players in less than a week since its release, “Fortnite’s” marketing strategy for their game seems to be working extremely well.