Krafton, the developers of PUBG, has filed a lawsuit against Garena and has accused them of copying PUBG: Battlegrounds.
Krafton, the developer of PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG), has filed a lawsuit against Garena, Apple, and Google for copyright infringement. The lawsuit alleges that Garena, the developer of battle royale games Free Fire and Free Fire Max, has copied PUBG, and Apple and Google are distributing the games on their respective app stores. Krafton also claims that Google is hosting videos on YouTube that feature gameplay from Garena's Free Fire and Free Fire Max.
According to a complaint shared by The Verge, Krafton filed a lawsuit against Garena for copyright infringement of its popular battle royale title. The lawsuit alleges that Garena has earned "hundreds of millions of dollars" from sales of the two games, and Apple and Google have also earned significant revenue from the distribution of the two Free Fire apps. However, both apps are still listed on Apple's App Store and Google Play store.
Krafton has taken legal action against Free Fire and Free Fire Max on December 21, asking Garena to immediately stop its exploitation of the games, including by revoking its apparent authorization to Apple and Google. However, Garena reportedly refused to comply with the request. Krafton also requested Apple and Google to cease distributing and exploiting the two games on their platforms, but both app stores still have the games listed.
In addition to the legal action against Garena, Apple, and Google, Krafton has also requested YouTube to remove numerous videos that include elements that blatantly infringe PUBG. However, these videos are still available on Google's video sharing platform.
The lawsuit also mentioned that Garena sold a game in 2017 in Singapore that copied PUBG, and while the claims were settled, there was no licensing agreement between the two gaming developers.
Free Fire has earned $1.1 billion (roughly Rs. 8,153 crore) in player spending in 2021, according to Sensor Tower data shared with The Verge, showing a 48 percent year-on-year growth. Meanwhile, Krafton earned $2.98 billion (roughly Rs. 22,087 crore) during the same period, but only showed a 7 percent year-on-year growth. The data suggests that Free Fire is inching closer to PUBG in terms of popularity and revenue.
In response to the lawsuit, a spokesperson from Sea, the parent company of Garena, has dismissed Krafton's claims as groundless. The legal battle between the two gaming developers is likely to continue, and it remains to be seen how it will affect the distribution and popularity of Free Fire and Free Fire Max.
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