PUBG Drops Fortnite Lawsuit Against Epic Games

It seems that the battle of Battle Royale might finally be coming to a close as the PlayerUnknown's Battleground team quietly withdraws their lawsuit attacking Fortnite's Epic Games. According to a recent report, the ongoing legal battle in Korea where PUBG corp alleged that Fortnite Battle Royale was an infringement on their intellectual property has peacefully come to a close.

According to Bloomberg, "PUBG Corp. sent a letter of withdrawal to Epic Games Inc.'s attorneys on Monday and the South Korean case has since closed, according to the website of the local court system. PUBG and its law firm confirmed the action but wouldn't say why, nor whether a settlement had been reached. Representatives for Epic in Korea had no immediate comment."

Prior to the lawsuit being officially announced, the team behind PUBG came out fists swinging against their fellow Tencent company saying "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."

The vice president then went on to discuss the previous professional relationship between Bluehole and Epic games, citing "an ongoing relationship with Epic Games throughout PUBG's development as they are the creators of [Unreal Engine 4], the engine we licensed for the game."

The biggest issue that the PUBG team has over the recent Epic Games announcement is how they are marketing upcoming content. During the unveiling of the new mode, Epic Games went as far as drawing the comparisons themselves by putting out on record that it "loves battle royale games like PUBG."

However, upon the release of Fortnite's own take on Battle Royale, the differences are plain to see. PUBG prides itself on its realism, multiple maps, and no-nonsense gameplay whereas Fortnite really isn't interested in taking itself too seriously ... you can even take to the battlegrounds in a dino onesie, come on! Nevermind the fact that Fortnite only has the interest in their one map and introduced a building mechanic that is in no way reflected in that of PUBG.

Despite PUBG not being the first battle royale title in the genre, it was the one that made it a breakout niche. It smashed records left and right, so the protectiveness over the crown was a little understandable.

Despite the rough reception, the free-to-play game quickly proved to players that it could stand on its own. Where PUBG relied on realism, part of Fortnite's charm was that it really didn't take itself too seriously, while still maintaining a challenging gameplay experience. From its cartoonish charm to its unique building mechanics, it became quite clear that this wasn't a PUBG clone.

Now that Fortnite is entering into its 5th season with having raked in over 318 million dollars just last month, it's a wise decision for the PUBG crew just to bow out gracefully.