PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds exec concerned over Fortnite Battle Royale’s similarities

PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds developer Bluehole is a bit worried about the upcoming Battle Royale mode for Fortnite. Epic Games' new mode is going to receive a standalone release on September 26 and will be free for everyone, not just for those who purchased a Founder's Pack.

Bluehole is a bit concerned about this release and particularly about some alleged similarities between PUBG and Fortnite Battle Royale. In fact, Epic Games even mentioned Playerunknown's Battlegrounds as one of the references for Battle Royale. They also mentioned Daybreak's H1Z1, for that matter.

In a statement released earlier today, Bluehole VP and executive producer Chang Han Kim said the following:

“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.”

“We have also noticed that Epic Games references PUBG in the promotion of Fortnite to their community and in communications with the press. This was never discussed with us and we don’t feel that it’s right. The PUBG community has and continues to provide evidence of the many similarities as we contemplate further action.”

We don't know to what extent these “similarities” are real, but we do know that the battle royale mode certainly wasn't invented with PUBG. Plot twist: H1Z1 did it first. Dozens, maybe hundreds of games did it first.

The statement also includes the following, which could be a potential source of trouble for all involved:

“We've 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.”

Seeing that Bluehole is “contemplating further action” against Epic Games, we doubt that PUBG wouldn't find some trouble in the future with Unreal Engine 4 support and licensing. We're just guessing, though, as we don't know how these deals fully operate.

In another related news, League of Legends execs are worried over Dota 2 similarities, and FIFA 18 is worried over PES 2018 resemblances.

Do you think Bluehole has the right to be concerned?