Fortnite released a new mode called “Impostors” with Patch 17.40. Many of you will notice that this mode bears a striking resemblance to Among Us. The developers have indirectly responded.
What happened? On Tuesday, August 17, the new Patch 17.40 was deployed to the servers. Prior to that, Fortnite announced a new mode with some teasers.
Now it’s here and the new “Impostors” mode is out. Many of you will notice that you have in front of you a copy that looks very similar to the Steam hit “Among Us”.
Epic Games apparently did not offer cooperation to the “Among Us” developers – they designed the mode on their own, tailored to the current Fortnite setting, and threw it into the game.
This is what the Among Us developers say
Understandably, discontent has spread because Fortnite did not just copy the game mechanics, but also the naming.
Subsequently, the community director of Among Us spoke up and wrote via Twitter:
“Game mechanics are fine – these shouldn’t be protected. But at least a different theme or different names would have made things more interesting, right?”
They would have been happy to collaborate and create something that both sides could have found some success in. Victoria Tran hints that both sides would have benefited more from the mode.
A programmer from Among Us also spoke up:
“Anyway – I feel pretty depressed today. Everything in the world already felt insurmountable, so this was just another funny reminder of how small we all really are.”
It is evident from the Among Us developers that there is considerable disappointment. They had hoped for a different decision.
Did Fortnite say anything? So far, Epic Games has not commented.
What was copied? The name for Impostors was copied, and essentially the entire map as well. As Gary Porter points out here on Twitter, the two maps bear a striking resemblance.
What do you think about this whole story? Do you think Epic Games should have gone for a collaboration with Among Us? Or do you think Fortnite can do this freely since it’s an open genre where every developer can take inspiration?
