The mobile game I Am Hero: AFK Tactical Teamfight is still quite new on iOS and Android. Now it faces a lawsuit from Riot. Reason: it blatantly copies from League of Legends and Teamfight Tactics.
What kind of game is this? I Am Hero: AFK Tactical Teamfight comes from the Vietnamese studio Imba Games and is a so-called auto battler in the style of auto-chess. The game promises a ton of rewards, even when you are not actively playing, hence “AFK”. A true idle game.
The game is available for both iOS and Android devices and has been downloaded over 500,000 times according to the two stores. The ratings range from 3.9/5 to 4.5/5 stars.
The game mechanics are quite simple: you collect heroes with special traits and build teams that compete against opponents. The traits create synergies and bonuses. There are reportedly even multiplayer guild bosses.
The basic concept sounds similar to the popular Teamfight Tactics, the auto-battler from LoL. The developers at Riot also think so and are now filing a hefty lawsuit, as the similarities appear to be too great.
I Am Hero copies character descriptions, faces lawsuit
This is what the copy looks like: Just the name “Tactical Teamfight” seems to be based on Teamfight Tactics. However, the developers have even directly copied from League of Legends. Some of the available heroes have strikingly similar names:
- Heimerdinger vs. Dinger
- Teemo vs. Tomee
- Vi vs. Vy
- Viktor vs. Victor
- Talon vs. Tolan
- Zac vs. Zak etc.
Even the design of the characters in I Am Hero corresponds to those from League of Legends or TFT. That the similarities are not coincidences is also evident in the descriptions of the heroes. The texts are partly copied verbatim, only the names have been changed:
Allegedly, I Am Hero is said to attract over 100 million players per month. Riot now wants compensation for the fact that these players, along with revenues, are gathered through copies of their work. I Am Hero is free but has a shop with microtransactions.
What’s the status of the lawsuit? In December, Riot filed a cease and desist against the Vietnamese developer, according to the Reuters news agency. This was not complied with, which is why they are now taking further action.
We cannot say precisely what sums are at stake. According to rumors, each point is to be treated individually and would cost $150,000 in damages. Furthermore, Riot demands that Google and Apple remove the game from their offerings.
The LoL developer has previously successfully sued a studio that exploited its content:
League of Legends: Plagiarism – LoL developer sues Mobile Legends
