The Battle Royale hype attracted many developers who wanted to jump on this bandwagon. In the mobile market, PUBG (PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds) is now taking action against the Chinese mobile clones Rules of Survival and Knives Out.
After the enormous success of PUBG (PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds), developers began to release their own versions in Battle Royale style. Some loosely followed the concept, while others blatantly copied the popular shooter from PUBG Corporation. Legal action is now being taken against two examples.
PUBG Mobile Clones – Not Like This!
Games like Fortnite brought their own style to the BR principle and are a colorful, welcome change to the serious Battlegrounds for many players. However, others infringe on the copyright of PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds. At least that’s what PUBG Corp. claims, which is now taking action against two mobile games.
Last week, PUBG filed a lawsuit against NetEase, the Chinese company behind the two mobile games Rules of Survival and Knives Out. The lawsuit addresses copyright infringement, unfair competition, and trademark violation.
The lawsuit is 155 pages long (via Torrentfreak) and deals with topics such as buildings, landscapes, vehicles, weapons, clothing, the zone before the start of a match, and the shrinking gameplay zone, which likely infringes on PUBG’s copyright.
The games also use the well-known phrase “Winner Winner Chicken Dinner,” which is presented to the winner of a round and is also used by PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds.
According to the accusation, these and other similarities are used to confuse the public and present NetEase’s games to players as official PUBG on mobile. This point is supported by the fact that these games frequently appear on platforms like YouTube as “Mobile PUBG” – there seems to be real confusion in the community.
Already in January, PUBG approached Apple regarding these games, but without success. NetEase has denied the allegations. Now, the PUBG Corp. saw no other option but to sue. PUBG has “suffered irreparable damage” due to these games and fears that further damage will follow in the future if the defendants are not stopped.
Therefore, PUBG Corp. wants to achieve that NetEase stops distributing and developing every version of the games Rules of Survival, Knives Out, and other unauthorized games.
PUBG fans say this in-game character looks like an actor. Even the actor agrees!
