An offshoot game mode of Fortnite that apes the popular PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds has prompted a response from Bluehole Inc. The company recently issued a statement regarding the community concern about the similarities between Fortnite and PUBG.
In a press release from the company, they describe an ongoing relationship with Epic Games in which they license the Unreal Engine 4. However, Bluehole says that they are concerned that Fortnite “may be replicating the experience for which PUBG is known.”
The press release also states that “The development team for PUBG has no relationship to Fortnite’s development as concerns around User Interface (UI), gameplay and structural replication in the battle royale mode exist.” The company also lodges complaints against Epic Games in that they’ve used references to PUBG in their promotion of the game which is set to arrive as a free download in the near future.
Chang Han Kim of Bluehole claims that the developers of PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds may be looking to take action against Epic for these reasons. “The PUBG community has and continues to provide evidence of the many similarities as we contemplate further action.”
What this further action is is anyone’s guess. Could Bluehole be gearing up for a legal battle with Epic Games? The wording of their recent statements certainly sound like it. The popularity of PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds is undeniable, but this game is certainly not the first of its kind.
– This article was updated on March 8th, 2018
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