The folks behind the biggest game of 2017 say their game was copied — here's what's going on

playerunknown's battlegrounds parachuting

When you've made made nearly half a billion dollars in six months, you can throw some weight around.

That helps explain why developer Bluehole, Inc., the South Korean game company behind the breakout hit video game "PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds" ("PUBG"), issued a bizarre press release on September 22 accusing another prominent game development company of copying their game.

"We are concerned that 'Fortnite' may be replicating the experience for which 'PUBG' is known," Chang Han Kim, Bluehole vice president and executive producer, said in a press release.

Kim's claiming that Epic Games' "Fortnite" is copying "PUBG" — a wild claim unto itself, made even wilder by the fact that Bluehole has an ongoing business relationship with Epic Games. The very technology powering "PUBG" is made by Epic Games, which puts the two companies in a very weird place. But Kim wasn't done:

"The 'PUBG' community has and continues to provide evidence of the many similarities as we contemplate further action," he wrote.

So, what in the world is going on? There's a lot to unpack.

First, what is "PUBG"?

You're jammed in a crappy plane with 100 other people, flying above an abandoned ex-Soviet island. You can jump whenever you want, knowing that as you plummet to the ground, 99 other people are plotting your imminent death. Of course, you're plotting theirs as well, just as soon as you can get your hands on a weapon.

Thankfully, though the island is uninhabited aside from you and the enemy players, its abandoned buildings — houses, hospitals, gas stations, etc. — are packed with P9s, AKs, and plenty of body armor.

As you scramble to put together a small arsenal and supplies for survival, you're also contending with the other 99 people doing the same thing. Sometimes those folks want to fight. Sometimes they're unarmed and just as terrified of you as you are of them.

Every interaction with another player in "PUBG" is a gamble, which is why it's so excellent.

"PUBG" is a breakout hit — the hottest game of 2017 by far.

The game isn't even officially out yet — it's in so-called "Early Access," which means it's a work-in-progress that you can buy and play right now — but it's already sold over 13 million copies. At $30, Bluehole has made nearly $400 million on "Battlegrounds" in just over six months.

Crazier still, it's only available on PC currently; an Xbox One version is in the works, expected later this year, with other game consoles expected to get the game later on.

To be more clear: Bluehole has sold over 13 million copies of a game that isn't finished with development, that's only available on a single platform. That's far from normal in the world of video games, even for blockbuster franchises like "Call of Duty" and "Grand Theft Auto."

So, what is "Fortnite"?

"Fortnite" is a third-person shooter that's focused on survival gameplay. You, or you and a group of friends, take on hordes of enemies from the tentative safety of a fort you've crafted. It's available on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PC, and Mac.

There's a cartoony art style to "Fortnite," which tonally fits in alongside the game's goofy dialog; there's a playful tone about everything in "Fortnite," which is starkly different from the dreary, dire tone of "PUBG." Moreover, the core of "Fortnite" is very different from "PUBG" — it's essentially a "tower defense" game.

In "Fortnite," like other tower-defense games, you're defending an immobile thing from waves of enemies. You have a period of time before the attack begins, when you're able to set up defenses (turrets, traps, walls, etc.). Once you trigger the battle, you must defend whatever that aforementioned thing is from being attacked. If you survive those waves, you've succeeded.

This isn't the stuff that Bluehole takes issue with.

See the rest of the story at Business Insider