By Chinua Albert Okafor @TheRoboRai
This week, PUBG maker Krafton filed a big lawsuit: it is suing the developers of two mobile games that it claims copied PUBG: Battlegrounds, the hit PC battle royale shooter, and it is suing Apple and Google for distributing the games on their app stores.
Besides hosting YouTube videos of the gameplay of the two games in question, Krafton also accuses Google of hosting "many posts that are nothing more than a blatantly infringing live-action dramatization of Battlegrounds."
The games Krafton takes issue with are Free Fire and Free Fire Max, developed by Garena. These apps appear in the App Store and Google Play under the names Garena Free Fire and Garena Free Fire Max. The apps are free to download with in-app purchases.
Krafton states:
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.
Krafton Displayed Photos Like This To Make Its Case Against Garena. Image: Krafton
Krafton claims Garena has earned "hundreds of millions of dollars" from sales of the apps and that Apple and Google have "equally benefited from their distribution of Free Fire."
As of December 21st, Krafton claims it took a few actions: it asked Garena to "immediately cease exploiting Free Fire and Free Fire Max"; Apple and Google were asked to stop distributing the games, which are still available on both app stores; and YouTube was asked to take down videos featuring Free Fire and Free Fire Max gameplay "that blatantly infringe Battlegrounds and, separately, the feature-length film that is infringing on Battlegrounds," which Krafton claims YouTube has not done..
In 2017, Garena sold a game that "copied" PUBG: Battlegrounds in Singapore. A lawsuit claims there was no license agreement despite claims regarding that being settled.
Sensor Tower shared data indicating that Free Fire earned $1.1 billion from players in 2021, a 48 percent increase from 2020. Sensor Tower reports that Sensor Tower's figures for PUBG Mobile were up only seven percent year-over-year, despite the total dollar amount being less than the astounding $2.9 billion that PUBG Mobile made last year in players' spending. It would seem that PUBG Mobile's growth is slowing down just as Free Fire's is exploding.
An inquiry for comment was not immediately answered by Apple and Google. A spokesperson for Sea parent company Garena tells Nigerian News Leader that Krafton's claims are unfounded.