PUBG Corp. Is Finally Suing Epic Games over Copyright Issues with ‘Fortnite Battle Royale’

Citing similarities that make it too close to its own game, “PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds,” PUBG Corp. has just filed a lawsuit against Epic Games over “Fortnite Battle Royale.” Officially, the reason provided to justify the lawsuit is that the company wants to protect its copyright. However, many speculate that this has more to do with PUBG’s dropping popularity, with players flocking to "Fornite" instead.

One of the first publications to cover the story was The Korea Times, which reports that PUBG Corp. filed the lawsuit in the Seoul Central District Court in South Korea. According to a company official, the documents were filed as far back as January, which they did in order to protect their game.

This indicates that the company really did make good on its intent to sue Epic, which it had already been hinting at when "Battle Royale" first launched. At the time, allegations of plagiarism were being thrown around and fans of "PUBG" were accusing the developers of "Fortnite" of being copycats. The issue eventually died down after several weeks, but it has now come back in full force.

As of writing, Epic has not released any statement with regards to the lawsuit and has chosen not to respond to requests for a comment. As the BBC notes, however, analysts have been clear with regards to the fact of the popularity of "PUBG" waning in tandem with the player count growth of "Fortnite."

The two games are still insanely popular, especially with "PUBG" recently becoming officially available in China, thanks to a partnership with local tech giant Tencent. However, "Fortnite" has grown to become a force of nature in ways that its predecessor could never achieve.

It has even managed to inject itself into pop culture via the music industry, sports, and major movie properties. As it stands, it’s clear which is the bigger game and PUBG Corp. doesn’t seem to like being in second place.