PUBG Corp has initiated a lawsuit against Epic Games, alleging that the latter’s game Fortnite infringes PUBG’s copyright.

The legal action is taking place in South Korea, and was initiated in January. According to the Korea Times, a PUBG Corporation spokesman said: “We filed the suit to protect our copyright.”

The lawsuit should perhaps not come as a great surprise since, last September, PUBG Corp’s CEO Chang Han Kim, raised concerns about Fortnite copying PUBG: “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. 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.”

He continued: “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 PUBG community has and continues to provide evidence of the many similarities as we contemplate further action.”

Fortnite’s Battle Royale mode was added in September 2017, two months after the game originally launched, and since then it and PUBG have slugged it out for supremacy as top Battle Royale game – both games have now passed the 40 million-user mark.

The lawsuit has a slightly exploratory feel to it, and its timing may not be coincidental: Epic Games is poised to bring Fortnite to the South Korean market via an agreement with Korean company Neowiz Games that will bring it to the country’s so-called PC Rooms. We’ll keep you posted with further developments.