Earlier this month, Epic Games announced the surprise addition of a Battle Royale mode to its new early access game, Fortnite. The developer was quite open about its inspiration for the 100-player PVP mode, saying in the announcement that "We love Battle Royale games like PUBG and thought Fortnite would make a great foundation for our own version."
Now it seems that releasing this mode hasn't sat well with PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG) developer Bluehole. In a press release, Bluehole's Vice President and Executive Producer, Chang Han Kim said that "after listening to the growing feedback from our community and reviewing the gameplay for ourselves, [Bluehole is] concerned that Fortnite may be replicating the experience for which PUBG is known.”
The fact that PUBG is mentioned in Fortnite's Battle Royale announcement is also a factor that Bluehole is upset about, with Han Kim stating "Epic Games references PUBG in the promotion of Fortnite to their community and in communications with the press. This was never discussed with us and we don’t feel that it’s right.”
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As for what PUBG's creator Brendan Greene (PLAYERUNKNOWN) thinks about other games copying the Battle Royale experience, the release pointed towards an answer Greene gave in the recent Reddit AMA he took part in, where he said, "Other companies will, of course, enter the marketplace, but I would just hope they put their own spin on the game mode and not just make a carbon copy!”
Han Kim ended the statement saying Bluehole will "contemplate further action," against Epic Games, which could mean that some legal action may follow.
All in all, Fortnite's Battle Royale mode is set to launch officially as a free-to-play mode on September 26. We will have to wait and see if these launch plans will change following Bluehole's statements.
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