PUBG Creator Talks Copyright Infringement, Says There Is No Protection In Gaming

There is no denying that even though PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG) wasn't the first battle royale title, it definitely was one that paved the way for the genre. The team behind the online game have gone after perceived copycats before looking to replicate their record breaking success, including this blatant one with even the similar name, but now founder Brendan Greene is opening up a bit about the legal woes of this business.

PlayerUnknown himself recently sat down with BBC Radio 1 to talk about the genre that he is heavily immersed in and what it's like to deal with the fakes and the fan-made tributes:

"I want other developers to put their own spin on the genre... not just lift things from our game. For that to happen you need new and interesting spins on the game mode. If it's just copycats down the line, then the genre doesn't grow and people get bored."

When looking at titles like the above Chinese mobile game, Greene stated that there is "no intellectual property protection" in gaming and that the same protection offered for movies and music just isn't there for video game developers just yet. He also believes it is something that desperately needs to be worked on:

"Some amazing games pass under the radar. Then someone else takes the idea, has a marketing budget, and suddenly has a popular game because they ripped off someone else's idea. I think it's something the industry needs to look into. You're protecting the work of artists basically. Games are art for a large part, and so I think it's important they're protected."

PUBG isn't the only one to suffer fakes, and it certainly won't be the last. It does bring the question of responsibility to the forefront - should gaming be more protected?