Bluehole Addresses PUBG/Fortnite Concerns!

Bluehole, Inc., the developers of PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG), recently addressed concerns regarding the similarities between their game and Fornite’s battle royal mode. Apparently, the fans are bit miffed about Epic “copying” Bluehole…

Chang Ham Kim, Vice President and Executive Producer for Bluehole explained that “[they] had an ongoing relationship with Epic Games throughout PUBG’s development as they are the creators of UE4, the engine we licensed for the game. After listening to the growing feedback from our community and reviewing the gameplay for ourselves, we are concerned that Fortnite may be replicating the experience for which PUBG is known.”

(PUBG)

I always felt that the timing of Epic’s Fortnite Battle Royal was a little suspect. And you can’t really deny the similarities between both games. That said, did Epic really copy Bluehole? I can’t outright say. What’s really interesting in all of this though, is Brendan Greene (aka PlayerUnknown) involvement with another game – H1Z1: King of the Hill.

While it’s true that Greene created battle royal mods before working on PUBG, he also was a consultant who worked with Daybreak Game Company on H1Z1. This was before he left to join Bluehole. Is this a similar situation…were someone (or a company) partnered with a group before splitting off to make their own version of something?

During a Reddit AMA (Ask Me Anything) session, Greene 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!” Chang Han Kim contemplates taking further action as Bluehole claims that PUBG is the first standalone battle royal game. But that claim is false. And while Greene is correct in hoping that other companies put their own spin on the genre, there are differences between H1Z1 and PUBG as well as similarities. The same can be said of Fortnite’s battle royal mode. The lack of realistic elements, the ability to build structures out of thin air, place traps and the changes to the environment (you can destroy buildings, trees, ect.) all help to add the creative spin that Greene was talking about.

(Fortnite Battle Royal)

To be honest, I hope Epic adds more to differentiate Fortnite Battle Royal from every other game out there. There’s room for growth here. At the same time, I can’t say that they outright copied Bluehole. Not yet anyways…