Riot Games is suing the Chinese company NetEase because their mobile game looks like the popular tactical shooter Valorant . You can learn about the background of the legal dispute on MeinMMO.
Which shooter is it about? The mobile game is the 5v5 tactical shooter “Hyper Front,” which has been released for iOS and Android devices.
In Hyper Front, you select a playable character and then fight in teams to win individual rounds. The goal is to plant a bomb using your hero’s unique abilities or to prevent the bomb from being planted.
Between rounds, you can improve your loadout by purchasing weapons, armor, or abilities. The money for a weapon is received at the end of a round, depending on whether you won or lost. Kills and planting/defusing the bomb also affect the amount of money you receive.
Allegation of copyright infringement
What kind of lawsuit is this? As reported by the online magazine Polygon.com, Riot Games has filed a lawsuit against NetEase, the publisher of Hyper Front. The shooter infringes on the copyright of Riot Games’ tactical shooter Valorant.
According to Polygon, Riot is expected to bring the case to courts in the UK, Germany, Brazil, and Singapore. It is also stated that the lawsuits may differ slightly in the various countries and be adjusted to the respective copyright laws, yet the main object of the allegations is that Hyper Front copies parts of Valorant.
How does the shooter resemble Valorant? Hyper Front visually resembles Riot Games’ shooter Valorant very closely. Both the design of the maps including the gray-green boxes and the design of the characters remind one of the tactical shooter.
Similarly, this applies to the weapons and abilities of the heroes. For example, there is a kind of “Omen” who can teleport or a “Sova” who shoots a scout arrow.
If you want to take a look at Hyper Front yourself and decide whether the mobile game looks like Valorant, we’ll embed a trailer of the 12 characters of the shooter here:
What is NetEase? NetEase, the company sued by Riot, is one of the largest Chinese companies for internet technology and distributor of numerous games.
The publisher’s portfolio includes games like Dead by Daylight Mobile, Knives Out, and Naraka Bladepoint (via neteasegames.com).
Repeated copyright cases with Riot Games
Are there similar incidents? With the lawsuit against NetEase, Riot Games is once again making an attempt to combat violations of its copyright.
In January 2022, Riot Games filed a lawsuit against the mobile game I Am Hero: AFK Tactical Teamfight because it copied League of Legends.
In May 2022, it continued with a lawsuit against Moonton and “Mobile Legends: Bang Bang”. The MOBA from the Chinese company also violated the copyright of League of Legends.
In November 2022, Moonton turned the tables and is now accusing Riot Games of stealing from Mobile Legends: Bang Bang.
The company behind TikTok is suing League of Legends – allegedly having stolen from a mobile game
