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PlayerUnknown Battlegrounds' Creators Contemplating 'Further Action' Against Fortnite's Battle Royale Mode
Developer Bluehole Inc. today offered a statement regarding the similarities between its PlayerUnknown Battlegrounds and Fortnite's recent Battle Royale Mode.
Chang Han Kim, vice president and executive producer for Bluehole, Inc. offered the following statement:
“We’ve had an ongoing relationship with Epic Games throughout PUBG’s development as they are the creators of UE4, the engine we licensed for the game. After listening to the growing feedback from our community and reviewing the gameplay for ourselves, we are concerned that Fortnite may be replicating the experience for which PUBG is known.”
“We have also noticed that Epic Games references PUBG in the promotion of Fortnite to their community and in communications with the press. This was never discussed with us and we don’t feel that it’s right.”
The larger ramifications of this statement are unclear, but Bluehole does appear to see Fortnite's mode as more than just a fun homage. Kim did offer a final statement saying, "The PUBG community has and continues to provide evidence of the many similarities as we contemplate further action."
Creator Brendan "PlayerUnknown" Greene offered his own statement of sorts in a recent Reddit AMA saying, “Other companies will, of course, enter the marketplace, but I would just hope they put their own spin on the game mode and not just make a carbon copy!”
To see a side-by-side comparison of the two modes, you can check out our video comparing them directly below. We also talked at length recently about the idea of other games playing with the Battle Royale style of gameplay in the podcast. You can hear that segment right here.
Our Take
This is a tricky situation, because Battlegrounds didn't come up with the concept of a last-man-standing shooter, but its version of it is far and away the most popular take on it. I am curious to see where this goes, if it does in fact go anywhere.
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