PUBG maker Krafton sues Apple, Google and Garena

(Image Courtesy: Krafton)

PUBG developer Krafton has sued Apple, Google and Garena, the creators of the lucrative Free Fire and Free Fire Max games, for alleged copyright violations.

Krafton has alleged that the two Garena games copied various mechanics from PUBG: Battlegrounds and sued Apple and Google for making Free Fire and Free Fire Max available on their app stores.

"Free Fire and Free Fire Max extensively copy numerous aspects of Battlegrounds, both individually and in combination, including Battlegrounds’ copyrighted unique game opening “air drop” feature, the game structure and play, the combination and selection of weapons, armor, and unique objects, locations, and the overall choice of color schemes, materials, and textures," The Verge cited Krafton as saying in a press statement.

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The company said Garena profited from its blatant PUBG copying and also accused Apple and Google of distributing the game on their platforms.

Krafton highlighted YouTube videos that showed gameplay and said it also saw "numerous posts containing a feature-length Chinese film that is nothing more than a blatantly infringing live-action dramatization of Battlegrounds.”

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It also compared the maps that the games use. Krafton said it asked Garena in December to stop the distribution of the two games, which was refused. It also asked Apple and Google to remove the game from their app stores, and wanted YouTube, which is owned by Google, to remove the videos it had highlighted.

Krafton has also accused Garena of copying PUBG: Battlegrounds by producing and selling a game in 2017 with similar mechanics and design.