'PUBG' developer doesn't like that Epic Games is making a battle royale game

When Fortnite announced its new Battle Royale mode, coming next week, the developers specifically referenced the hit battle royale-style game PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG) as part of its inspiration.

That does not sit well with PUBG's developers.

PUBG developer Bluehole called out Fortnite developer Epic Games in a press release today, accusing the developer of replicating the idea of PUBG. Bluehole is even contemplating taking further action against Epic.

For those who are unfamiliar with the battle royale genre of video games, most of them go like this: A bunch of players start on an island with nothing but the clothes on their backs, they have to scavenge for weapons, and try to kill everyone else/avoid dying while the playing area gets smaller and smaller. PUBG has been a smash success since it arrived on Steam in beta earlier this year, and other developers are increasingly trying their hand at the intense, survival-action genre.

Epic Games cited PUBG and its battle royale predecessor H1Z1: King of the Kill as inspiration for its new Battle Royale mode in Fortnite, both of which have been developed by PlayerUknown, a.k.a. Brendan Greene.

PUBG, interestingly, runs on Unreal Engine 4, which was created by Epic Games.

"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," Bluehole vice president Chang Han Kim said in the release. "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."

Fortnite Battle Royale is pretty similar to PUBG, in that it starts with 100 players who drop out of a plane over an island to find weapons and other items to fight for survival while a damaging circle tightens the playable area over time. In Fornite Battle Royale, though, players can destroy structures and the environment for materials to build their own structures.

Despite that major difference, and the fact that you can't lay legal claim to an entire genre, Kim ended the press release by saying Bluehole is going to "contemplate further action."

That probably translates to a potential lawsuit, and if that's the case, Bluehole better check the wording on their licensing agreement for Unreal Engine 4.