The mobile game Draconius GO is heavily reminiscent of Pokémon GO. Too much? Niantic claims that their copyright has been violated.
In recent weeks, there have been frequent reports from players who are now catching dragons instead of Pokémon. No one can deny that Draconius GO is very similar to Pokémon GO.
Niantic believes this “similarity” goes too far. The developers claim that copying has occurred – and they are filing a complaint.
Niantic not pleased with Draconius GO
Via email, the developers of Elyland, the creators of Draconius GO, reached out to the public. They state that Niantic has filed an unfounded complaint against them in the App Store.
Allegedly, Niantic considers the existence of Draconius GO a copyright infringement. However, the accused developers emphasize that they did not use any code or graphics from Pokémon GO to develop their game. They assert it is “completely original”.
“In the development of our game, we consulted leading world-class lawyers and we are confident that Niantic’s claim is 100% unjustified,” Elyland writes in the email. “Niantic’s reaction shows that they see us as a serious competitor and thus indicate that our product is better.”
According to the Ukrainian developers, their team has “achieved more than Niantic with their millions in revenue.”
Players in the countryside are happy about Draconius GO
On social networks, there are frequently posts from players living in the countryside who are excited about Draconius GO. In the new game, you find “filler columns” much more often, which are an alternative to PokéStops.
Players who lack the stops in Pokémon GO in rural areas have more opportunities when catching dragons. While in Pokémon GO you are dependent on Ingress players who must propose and accept stops, in Draconius GO there is simply a filler column every 50-100 meters.
The difference is illustrated by player HubiePengui with a comparison screenshot:
Competition boosts business – Good prospects for trainers?
That they are looking for alternatives is shown by the download numbers of Draconius. Nearly 100,000 downloads alone on Android systems in the last seven days.
Another advantage of Draconius GO is that it already features PvP battles. In the video by Trainer Tips, the similarity to Pokémon GO is evident:
Patrick thinks: Presumably, the dispute between Pokémon GO and Draconius GO will positively affect us gamers. Because now Niantic is being made aware of how to attract players with a similar game principle, but with more “stops” and other features.
Have you tried Draconius GO yet? In Pokémon GO, everything is currently about a new shiny ghost that appears during the Halloween event.
