‘PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds’ creators sue NetEase’s ‘Rules of Survival,’ ‘Knives Out’

MANILA, Philippines – The popularity of online shooters on mobile, especially those mimicking PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG), brought PUBG Corp, the company running PUBG, to file a lawsuit in Northern California’s US District Court against Chinese video game publisher NetEase for trademark and copyright violations as well as unfair competition. 

NetEase is the publisher behind two battle royale-styled games for mobile phones – Rules of Survival and Knives Out.

In the suit, PUBG Corp – a subsidiary of Korean publisher Bluehole – alleges NetEase released their mobile games ahead of the launch of the mobile version of PUBG to gain a share of the market.

PUBG Corp also lists 25 characteristics of PUBG that it says is copyrightable. These include the pre-game lobby, the shrinking gameplay map mechanic, the 100-man battle format and, strangely enough, the phrase “Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner!” as a recognizable element “nearly synonymous with BATTLEGROUNDS to gamers.”

Ars Technica adds that Fortnite: Battle Royale, another game in the same vein as PUBG, is not part of the suit as it has some different elements compared to Rules of Survival and Knives Out. Fortnite: Battle Royale does not have vehicles, has a different map structure and building designs, and maintains a different sort of armor implementation. 

PUBG Corp asked the court to award damages. It also requested that the court order NetEase to “remove each and every version of the games Rules of Survival, Knives Out, and similarly infringing games, from distribution and to cease developing and supporting those games.”

The full suit can be read here. – Rappler.com