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Riot Games, the creators behind League of Legends, are suing Moonton, the developers of the game “Mobile Legends.” They see copyright infringement. Additionally, they seem to want to make room for their own mobile version “Strike of Kings.”
Lawsuit against Moonton and Mobile Legends
Okay, if you name your game “Mobile Legends,” you should see this coming.
Riot Games accuses Moonton of copying the “League of Legends” brand with their game “Mobile Legends.” Mobile Legends is available for iOS and Android.
Riot says Moonton copies elements from League of Legends across a number of their games. This starts with the use of a nearly identical map like LoL’s “Summoner’s Rift.” Some of the heroes, the towers, and even the fonts are clearly in the LoL style.
The issue has a backstory; back in August 2016, Riot wanted Google to remove the game “Mobile Legends” from Google Play. However, Google did not take action, but Moonton did on their own.
They modified the game a bit and addressed complaints that Riot had raised with Google. For example, Riot pointed out the similarity with the character “Garen.”
But apparently, Riot Games finds these changes insufficient, hence the lawsuit.
So you can see for yourself, here is gameplay from Mobile Legends – it dates back to late 2016:
League of Legends is already getting a “mobile clone,” but from its own parent company
A spicy matter, notes the site pvplive. Normally, one could say: Well, League of Legends is available for PC. What does Riot care that Moonton is making a mobile version?
But the company behind Riot Games, Tencent Games, has developed a kind of “mobile version” of League of Legends in Asia: the game “Honor of Kings.”
This has taken off in Asia and is incredibly successful. Honor of Kings is so successful that there are concerns about addiction stemming from the game, and the Chinese government has targeted it.
As “Strike of Kings,” a 5vs5 arena game, the version is also available in the West.
And yes … it also looks like LoL. But Riot Games probably won’t sue for that.
Reaction from Mobile Legends: They threaten with a lawsuit against rivals and media
Update 11.7. 13:56: There is a reaction from Mobile Legends, an official statement. They claim that the accusations are groundless. Mobile Legends is a MOBA developed independently, and its copyright is already registered and protected in some countries.
Some media and competitors have spread these negative information and rumors against them. They reserve the right to take legal action against them.
More about “Honor of Kings” and the conflict with the Chinese government:
Anti-Addiction Measures – Will playtime for LoL in China be strictly limited?
