Millions of players from around the globe have become fans of the popular Video Games "Fortnite" and "PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds." Those in South Korea are getting concerned about whether their access to the popular game will be terminated. The Daily Star recently reported that the subsidiary company of PUBG Corp filed a suit in a South Korean district court that is aiming to block the distribution of "Fortnite'' in South Korea.
PUBG Corporation and Epic are at odds
There has been an ongoing feud between PUBG Corporation and Epic, which is the company behind "Fortnite," since last fall.
''Fortnite'' announced their own "battle royale" mode in September, which irked PUBG Corporation. While the concept of a battle royale is not new for those who have watched "The Hunger Games," "PUBG" developers released a statement saying that feedback from players had them concerned that "Fortnite" may be copying the experience that ''PUBG'' delivers.
While there was no original suit filed, "PUBG" executives fired a warning shot at Epic Games, saying they were considering taking more action against Epic, in order to protect their property. Over 20 million people play ''Fortnite'' and Epic created a massive $100 million eSports prize pool.
Forbes has said that ''PUBG'' creator Brendan Greene is seeking stronger intellectual property protections for the video game industry.
Greene later told Radio 1 that he wants this genre to expand but if other games are just replicating, the genre will not expand and fans will eventually get bored of them. Greene has publicly called "Fortnite" a copycat.
Legal professionals say that game modes and game mechanics are not protected by established US laws, which is why several games have similar "battle royale" and "capture-the-flag" modes.
Genres are not copyrightable. Current laws allow different games to have similar modes, as well as game mechanics.
It's a complicated relationship between Epic and Bluehole
Nobody can predict how the suit will play out. The final decision comes down to the judge. Epic is best known for the Unreal Engine 4 which powers a number of games including Microsoft’s “Sea of Thieves,” Square Enix’s “Kingdom Hearts III,” Ninja Theory’s “Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice,” and of course, "PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds."
Both sides have stayed quiet on the pending suit and their business relationship.
Epic's Unreal Engine 4 operates through a royalty model. It's a free download but when you reach $3,000 in a quarter, Epic charges you a five percent payment on your gross earnings. There is a possibility that Bluehole negotiated a lower fee but those details are sealed by a non-disclosure agreement. Despite the suit, "PUBG" is not expected to lose its Unreal license.
Epic Games has said that they don't comment on current legal matters.
