PUBG Developer Drops Fortnite Lawsuit

PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds developer PUBG Corp. has dropped its legal case against Fortnite publisher Epic Games. According to Bloomberg, PUBG Corp. sent a letter of withdrawal to Epic Games' attorneys and the lawsuit--filed in South Korea, the home country of PUBG Corp. parent company Bluehole--is now closed.

PUBG Corp. opened proceedings against Fortnite in May for alleged copyright infringement. The exact reasoning for the lawsuit is unknown, but the PUBG developer had previously said it was "concerned that Fortnite may be replicating the experience for which PUBG is known." The company stated it had "concerns" about Fortnite's UI, gameplay, and "structural replication" with regards to the similarities between PUBG and Fortnite.

To complicate matters further, Bluehole and Epic have an ongoing licensing agreement regarding the latter's Unreal Engine, which PUBG uses. In addition, both companies are part-owned by the same corporation, Tencent.

An Epic Games spokesperson told GameSpot the company would not comment on "ongoing litigation." PUBG Corp.'s representatives did not immediately respond.

In March, PUBG creator Brendan Greene said Fortnite is good for the battle royale genre overall. "It's great that the battle royale space is expanding and Fortnite is getting battle royale game modes in the hands of a lot more people," he said. We'll update if we hear more from Epic or PUBG Corp.'s representatives.