Epic Games Sued by PUBG Corp Over "Fortnite" Battle Royale Mode

[TheDeeGee]

Sue the company you lease your Game Engine from... yip!

 

[DeathtoGnomes]

It was bound to happen sooner or later. Not that Epic is not capable of original thought here, but thats what you get when you copy and paste too much.

 

[FordGT90Concept]

Besides, out of all publishers, I think MS is actually one of the better ones. People may complain when working with them, but when they leave, it's funny to see some come back and realize it was better than Activision or EA or whatever. Like former Bungie employees and some Mass Effect people, for example.

Microsoft bought out studios left and right to make a game or two for Xbox and then dissolved it, just like EA. Only difference is Microsoft is willing to license IPs they own.

Thats just funny Pubg Corp/Bluehole don't own the game mode also they ripped the idea of movies like hunger games, really there not much difference from BR to last man standing apart from the dome ( Hunger Games ) and having to find weapons ( Hanger Games ), so if the creators of the hunger games wanted to make a game based on there movie it would be Pubg but with melee, so Pubg is dreaming i hope epic blacklists them from using unreal engine.

How is this different from The Division's survival mode (which was out before PUBG went beta)? PUBG has less features (no NPCs, severe weather, nor constant pressure to stay alive) and is more competitive (PvE more than PvP).

 

[sergionography]

The pot calling the kettle black. PUBG wouldn't even exist without Epic's engine. Unless PUBG has registered patents, trademarks, and copyrights to stand on, then their argument has to stand on how Fortnite damaged PUBG which...good luck with that. You can't own a genre.

There is a difference between genre and bootleg. Genre is like hip hop or rock etc, bootleg(plagiarism) is when you literally take someone elses song/work and remake it yourself, or taking the same exact musical notes and reproduce them with slightly different instruments. I played both pubg and fortnite(played pubg first) and honestly fortnite was practically the same exact thing. The only thing they didnt bootleg was probably them not using "winner winner chicken dinner".

 

[remixedcat]

CRIPPLE FIGHT! (talkin bout the 2 game devs mentioned in the thread title)

 

[AltCapwn]

It's like EA gonna sue mario kart because it's a race game and they did need for speed underground

 

[H82LUZ73]

About only legit claim pubg corp has is the "but also its USP of dropping players in arenas empty-handed, " the rest well is and was done before pubg was released so they have no legit claim. As to add on to the end of 2nd paragraph they could use h1 as a defense as that predated pubg doing pretty much everything they claimed short using plane/bus to drop people in.

Bogus Lawsuit period. Bet part of reason they are doing this is cause user base of pubg has been shrinking, even big streamers don't play it as much.

True...... but so many of you need to know Is PlayerUNkown was the guy that made ARMA3 Battle Royal/Munchie Games Aram2,H1Z1 and PUBG ,He was also the coder for all the CCG Arma2/3 Severs,He also helped Frankie and SadaPlays with all those Dayz vids.I dont blame him for this at all,

 

[Gasaraki]

You can't sue for a game type, otherwise there wouldn't be DOTA games around or FPSes, RPGs, Tower Defense, etc, etc.

Microsoft bought out studios left and right to make a game or two for Xbox and then dissolved it, just like EA. Only difference is Microsoft is willing to license IPs they own.


How is this different from The Division's survival mode (which was out before PUBG went beta)? PUBG has less features (no NPCs, severe weather, nor constant pressure to stay alive) and is more competitive (PvE more than PvP).

You show watch the history of Bungie on Youtube. Microsoft gave them so much freedom to make Halo the way Bungie wanted to. Bungie was the one that wanted to leave and go to Activision and Microsoft let them. Now notice how Destiny is shit.

 

[StrayKAT]

Microsoft bought out studios left and right to make a game or two for Xbox and then dissolved it, just like EA. Only difference is Microsoft is willing to license IPs they own.


How is this different from The Division's survival mode (which was out before PUBG went beta)? PUBG has less features (no NPCs, severe weather, nor constant pressure to stay alive) and is more competitive (PvE more than PvP).

That's not EA's problem necessarily. It's that they waste what they have even after doing that. I don't know any Microsoft examples where they rushed the games, made it the lowest common denominator, or put too many non-gamey things as a gateway to enjoy the game (such as egregious MT). And they certainly care about single player experiences. You don't see them do dumb shit like hire giants like Amy Hennig for a Star Wars game... then humiliate them and shut it down and say no one likes single player games.

 

[Assimilator]

True...... but so many of you need to know Is PlayerUNkown was the guy that made ARMA3 Battle Royal/Munchie Games Aram2,H1Z1 and PUBG ,He was also the coder for all the CCG Arma2/3 Severs,He also helped Frankie and SadaPlays with all those Dayz vids.I dont blame him for this at all,

Nobody cares.

 

[FordGT90Concept]

FYI, "battle royale" dates back to 1671: "a fight participated in by more than two combatants; especially : one in which the last fighter in the ring or the last fighter standing is declared the winner." It's a wrestling term. Outside of wrestling, it's usually called "last man standing." The only thing really unique about Battlegrounds is that it's open world.

Timeline:
2011: Fornite was revealed as the demonstrator for Unreal Engine 4.
2014: Fortnite became a functional prototype.
Early 2016: Brendan Greene ("PlayerUnknown") joined Bluehole and began production on Battlegrounds.
Jun 2016: Battlegrounds was announced.
Mar 2017: Battlegrounds released as early access.
Jul 25, 2017: Fortnite released as early access.
Sep 26, 2017: Fortnite Battle Royale released as early access.
Dec 20, 2017: Battlegrounds released.

Fortnite -> Fortnite Battle Royale couldn't have happened in three months. For a big company like Epic, that's just quality assurance time. Battle Royale had to have been in development much longer--at least a year.

What I find interesting is this quote: https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/20...ew-modes-modding-plans-and-his-meteoric-rise/

RPS: So what was the ongoing nature of the relationship with Sony Online? Did they hire you, were you a consultant?
PU: I was a consultant. They licensed my game mode, they licensed my idea for inclusion. Which was last-man standing deathmatch with an ever decreasing play zone, with a random loot system.

Which implies there is some kind of patent, trademark, or copyright that Sony felt they had to pay for. Sony only consulted with Greene for a "few months."


These cases depend on evidence of dates and specificity of language, neither of which we have access to. It'll be interesting to see what comes of this.

That's not EA's problem necessarily. It's that they waste what they have even after doing that. I don't know any Microsoft examples where they rushed the games, made it the lowest common denominator, or put too many non-gamey things as a gateway to enjoy the game (such as egregious MT). And they certainly care about single player experiences. You don't see them do dumb shit like hire giants like Amy Hennig for a Star Wars game... then humiliate them and shut it down and say no one likes single player games.

Because the last time Microsoft made a genuine PC game was near on a decade ago. Everything in game development has changed since then (the whole concept of day one patches, for example).

 

[T1111]

its just amazing game fortnite, who made first this type of game, sure it wasnt pubg, fortnine just made all amazing, building mechanics is totally new never seen and that is what it makes great, not this bs weapon looting

 

[StrayKAT]

Because the last time Microsoft made a genuine PC game was near on a decade ago. Everything in game development has changed since then (the whole concept of day one patches, for example).

I'm not sure why I should even care about that. The games I like from them that share Xbox support don't even have impressive graphics per se.. they're just fun smaller games. Like Ori and Cuphead…. both using Unity. There are a hundred PC only Unity games, and they don't look any better. It's not like I'm losing anything because it was on console.

edit: Strangely, they still put out content for Flight Simulator. That's as PC Only as it gets. I have a basic edition so don't play any of it, but it's kind of cool that they work on it. EA would never have a studio dedicated just for something like this.... especially a title this old.

edit: I'd also add that being a console maker probably keeps them more in check as far as game quality goes. They want to create an attractive platform in general. While they lose against the likes of Sony and Nintendo, it forces them to think like them too. That couldn't happen if they behaved like EA. It's not good for the brand. They're constantly mindful of making "killer apps" instead.

 

[LiveOrDie]

dunno if you already knew this but Battle Royale stems from a popular asian movie with the same name, which in turn is based on a book with same name.

Yeah but the point is the same they ripped off a movie and the name for it lol.

True...... but so many of you need to know Is PlayerUNkown was the guy that made ARMA3 Battle Royal/Munchie Games Aram2,H1Z1 and PUBG ,He was also the coder for all the CCG Arma2/3 Severs,He also helped Frankie and SadaPlays with all those Dayz vids.I dont blame him for this at all,

He also said he sucked at programming which really shows in his crap ass games/mods.

 

[Papahyooie]

Most of you are missing the point here... pubg isn't suing epic because they "stole the idea"... They're suing epic because epic used their place as pubg's engine provider to begin creating a competitor. They had access to pre-release code, and began working on their game based on that code.

Also, all you "kotk did it before pubg!!!!" People.... Do you not realize that kotk was PlayerUnknown's project as well?

 

[LiveOrDie]

Most of you are missing the point here... pubg isn't suing epic because they "stole the idea"... They're suing epic because epic used their place as pubg's engine provider to begin creating a competitor. They had access to pre-release code, and began working on their game based on that code.

Also, all you "kotk did it before pubg!!!!" People.... Do you not realize that kotk was PlayerUnknown's project as well?

That is a load of bull you have no idea about the engine or its features, you saying epic a game engine designer and a multi-million dollar company used code from a crappy ass indie game thats just built off marketplace crap and still is? Epic doesn't need to use there code and in a fact Pubg Corp had a sad about if Epic was going to share new code they developed for fortnite in there new engine updates, of course they did Epic is a great company always helping out devs and giving out free assets.

 

[Papahyooie]

That is a load of bull you have no idea about the engine or its features, you saying epic a game engine designer and a multi-million dollar company used code from a crappy ass indie game thats just built off marketplace crap and still is? Epic doesn't need to use there code and in a fact Pubg Corp had a sad about if Epic was going to share new code they developed for fortnite in there new engine updates, of course they did Epic is a great company always helping out devs and giving out free assets.

Calm down there, turbo. No need to get nasty... You misunderstand me. I never said they stole code. I'm saying Pubg's lawsuit is based around the claim that Epic used their position as the provider of Pubg's engine to see pre-release builds of Pubg, and began making Fortnite in response. Moreover, I'm not saying that happened... I'm saying that's what Pubg is claiming. That, as opposed to the people who simply think that Pubg is suing Epic because they stole an idea.

Your (or my) opinion on the games in question is irrelevant, so throwing in insults about the game is irrelevant as well.

 

[FordGT90Concept]

Most of you are missing the point here... pubg isn't suing epic because they "stole the idea"... They're suing epic because epic used their place as pubg's engine provider to begin creating a competitor. They had access to pre-release code, and began working on their game based on that code.

That's not how Unreal Engine licensing works. No game code needs to be shared with Epic. Small snippets of very specific things may be shown to Epic in support tickets but that's about it. Epic would have only known what Bluehole was working on if Bluehole offered it. It's really none of Epic's business other than knowing how much your game is grossing per month to pay royalties.

Additionally, look at my timeline: Battlegrounds was developed very quickly (a year) where Fortnite was in development for over 6 years. The decision to create Fortnite Battle Royale would have had to have been done before Battlegrounds went to Steam Early Access. Pretty sure that's not what Bluehole is accusing Epic of anyway...

I cited that article which explicitly talked about Greene and Sony licensing for a reason: Epic may have been inspired by Greene's earlier work, DayZ: Battle Royale.

 

[INSTG8R]

Nah, not this one. The greed was apparent from day one by releasing it in the state it was in, followed shortly by adding in-game ads and then by the lack of action in development and anti-cheat practices. It has been a poor product from the get-go, with the promise of being something cool.

It peaked too early and Bluehole was more eager to cash in on that, than to develop something that's here to stay.

Totally agree to me it’s just another DayZ. Never finished, overhyped mess but somehow popular.

 

[Markosz]

Looks like they are getting more and more desperate as they are losing their player base.

 

[Slizzo]

Fortnite -> Fortnite Battle Royale couldn't have happened in three months. For a big company like Epic, that's just quality assurance time. Battle Royale had to have been in development much longer--at least a year.

For sure BR could have happened within Fortnite within 3 months. I believe they pulled all their Unreal devs off of any Unreal project and put them on BR. With the state that Fortnite BR released in it certainly is plausible.

 

[FordGT90Concept]

I believe they pulled all their Unreal devs off of any Unreal project and put them on BR.

That's how projects fail, not succeed.

 

[Papahyooie]

That's how projects fail, not succeed.

They already had 99% of the code for Fortnite already in place. They just tacked on the battle royale mode, and yes they did it after battlegrounds was announced. That's why Pubg corp is mad. They're not mad that Epic made a battle royale game. In fact, Greene himself said he was glad the genre was getting more competitive. They're mad that Epic leveraged their position as the engine provider to gain an advantage, and by basically ripping off their trade dress (which is obvious to anyone who is being honest with themselves.) And also that Epic even used PUBG's name in their marketing to piggyback off PUBG's success.

That's not how Unreal Engine licensing works. No game code needs to be shared with Epic. Small snippets of very specific things may be shown to Epic in support tickets but that's about it. Epic would have only known what Bluehole was working on if Bluehole offered it.

That's exactly what I'm saying. At the outset of this, PUBG claimed that Epic had made use of builds that Bluehole had provided to Epic for support in optimization, to make their own game.

 

[Vayra86]

They already had 99% of the code for Fortnite already in place. They just tacked on the battle royale mode, and yes they did it after battlegrounds was announced. That's why Pubg corp is mad. They're not mad that Epic made a battle royale game. In fact, Greene himself said he was glad the genre was getting more competitive. They're mad that Epic leveraged their position as the engine provider to gain an advantage, and by basically ripping off their trade dress (which is obvious to anyone who is being honest with themselves.) And also that Epic even used PUBG's name in their marketing to piggyback off PUBG's success.

The plot thickens... they might actually have a case then. If they can provide proof, not just the public outings. I'm quite sure those were legally vetted by Epic.

I'll be fair I'm biased as hell in this. I would much rather have Epic come out winning the case and the money associated with their Fortnite success than handing it over to Bluehole. The latter has no real interest in gaming and does nothing to further it as a whole.

 

[FordGT90Concept]

They already had 99% of the code for Fortnite already in place. They just tacked on the battle royale mode, and yes they did it after battlegrounds was announced. That's why Pubg corp is mad. They're not mad that Epic made a battle royale game. In fact, Greene himself said he was glad the genre was getting more competitive. They're mad that Epic leveraged their position as the engine provider to gain an advantage, and by basically ripping off their trade dress (which is obvious to anyone who is being honest with themselves.) And also that Epic even used PUBG's name in their marketing to piggyback off PUBG's success.



That's exactly what I'm saying. At the outset of this, PUBG claimed that Epic had made use of builds that Bluehole had provided to Epic for support in optimization, to make their own game.

Source? All I can find is this: https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/tech/2018/05/134_249598.html

Which actually says that Epic Games Korea was served papers way back in January. The reason why we're hearing about it now is because PUBG Corp filed an injection against Epic Games Korea to stop Fortnite: Battle Royale from getting distributed to Korean cyber cafes.

I'd really like to see those papers filed in January.