Bluehole Inc., the developer of hit PC title PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, has finally spoken out about the new Fortnite Battle Royale offering from Epic Games, and it doesn’t seem like they’re fans of the free-to-play mode. Bluehole Vice President Chang Han Kim released a statement today that the company is “concerned that Fortnite may be replicating the experience for which PUBG is known.”
“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,” said Kim. “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 face of the popular shooter is the titular PLAYERUNKNOWN, whose legal name is Brendan Greene, and he’s also weighed in on the emergence of other developers working on battle royale shooters. In a recent Reddit Q&A session, Greene said that he hopes people put their own spin on the genre rather than copying what has worked. “Other companies will, of course, enter the marketplace,” explained Greene. “But I would just hope they put their own spin on the game mode and not just make a carbon copy!”
PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds is available now for PC, and is set to arrive on Xbox One later this year. Meanwhile, Fortnite‘s Battle Royale mode will become free-to-play on September 26.
