Bluehole Ends Lawsuit Against Epic Games Over Fortnite Battle Royale
Bluehole Studios, the developer behind PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG), has decided to drop the lawsuit it filed against Epic Games regarding similarities between Fortnite: Battle Royale and PUBG. As PUBG was created using Epic’s Unreal game engine, Bluehole had concerns about the access Epic had to PUBG during its development.
However, the legal battle has come to a surprising end. Bluehole has filed a letter of withdrawal with the courts in South Korea, indicating the end of the case. Bloomberg reports that none of the parties involved have commented on the withdrawal.
This resolution not only settles the lawsuit but also puts an end to speculation that Fortnite could be taken off the market or subjected to sanctions. Fortnite has become a cultural phenomenon and has surpassed PUBG in popularity. If Fortnite were to be temporarily removed from sale, it would have had a significant impact.
The lawsuit was further complicated by the fact that both Bluehole and Epic Games are partially owned by Chinese tech conglomerate Tencent. Tencent owns 10 percent of Bluehole, 40 percent of Riot Games (developer of League of Legends), and also publishes both games in China.
Interestingly, this is not the first time Bluehole has filed a copyright infringement lawsuit. The company also sued NetEase in April over two mobile games that closely resembled PUBG.