Bethesda, the creators of Fallout, sued Warner Bros for its Westworld game based on the popular TV series. The game is said to be an obvious copy of Fallout Shelter.
Recently, Warner Bros. announced that a mobile game for Westworld is being released worldwide: The game is based on the popular series and also features well-known characters like Dolores, Teddy, or Bernard.
What kind of game is this? The player takes on the role of a newly hired employee of the Westworld park. Players build lifelike robots and upgrade the AIs. Ultimately, it is a management game where players must ensure that the park’s guests are satisfied.
Bethesda wants Westworld for mobile to be removed from the market immediately
Westworld is a copy of Fallout Shelter in terms of coding and game design: Fallout Shelter takes place in the Fallout universe. Players are a Vault Overseer, responsible for expanding the bunker facility and managing the growing population. It is crucial to build a functioning infrastructure, fend off disruptions and attacks on the bunker facility, and complete missions. The game design, art style, animations, gameplay, and other features are nearly identical to the Westworld game.
Even the same bug in Westworld as in Fallout Shelter: Furthermore, Bethesda’s lawsuit states that the same copyrighted code from Fallout Shelter was used for Westworld. They even found a bug in the Westworld game that had occurred in an earlier version of Fallout Shelter. According to Bethesda, the Westworld game simply copies all features from Fallout Shelter and has only made “cosmetic adjustments” for the Westworld theme.
Bethesda also sues the developer Behaviour Interactive
Behaviour Interactive was involved in the development of both games: The lawsuit is directed not only at Warner Bros. Behaviour Interactive Studios participated in the development of Fallout Shelter. The studio is also the developer of the Westworld game. According to Bethesda, Behaviour Interactive has committed breach of contract and exploited access to Bethesda’s intellectual property, including the copyrighted code of Fallout Shelter.
They have stolen to save time: Bethesda accuses Warner Bros. and Behaviour Interactive of stealing from Fallout Shelter to get Westworld on the market as quickly as possible. This would have resulted in a shorter production time and lower costs. They want to take advantage of Fallout Shelter’s popularity.
In this, Bethesda is now suing:
- There are similar gameplay features, including comic-style 2D characters in a 3D environment and an underground facility with multiple rooms for players to explore and build.
- A copyright infringement
- A breach of contract that misused trade secrets
