The creator of PUBG, Krafton, has filed a new lawsuit against Free Fire’s creator, Garena, alleging that the latter is disseminating a knockoff of its battle royale game.

Krafton Launched Lawsuit Against Free Fire & Free Fire Max

Owner of Player Unknown’s Battlegrounds Krafton has launched a lawsuit against Apple, Google, and Garena for the mobile battle royale shooters Free Fire and Free Fire Max, which Krafton claims are “blatantly infringing” on PUBG.

Several aspects of Free Fire and the more current Free Fire Max, including in-game objects, weapons, and the game’s map, are said to violate copyrighted elements of PUBG, according to Krafton, who filed the complaint.

Similarities between PUBG (Krafton) and Free Fire (Garena)

The lawsuit lists several similarities between the games, including the pre-game lobby, map designs, the armor-piercing frying pan weapon, and a victory celebration with a chicken concept at the end of a round.

1. Battlegrounds’ copyrighted unique ‘air drop’ feature, the game’s structure and gameplay, the combination and selection of weapons, armor, and other unique objects, locations, and the overall choice of color schemes, materials, and textures are just a few of the things that Free Fire and Free Fire Max extensively copy, according to Krafton.
2. According to Krafton’s complaint, “when a player wins at the end of Free Fire, his or her screen displays a cartoon chicken lying above a picture of a roast chicken dinner.” This tagline, which Krafton cleverly chose to use to celebrate Battlegrounds winners, has come to represent the game. The contrast of this jovial declaration of victory with the game’s survival tale adds humor and aspects of a surprise to the piece, and the gaming community has come to adore this aesthetic inclusion of this forceful declaration in particular.

According to information and belief, Garena copied Krafton’s expressive use of a chicken dinner theme to designate victory whereas other depictions could have been used to inject joy and whimsy into a game upon winning. “Garena has employed the use of chicken imagery in Free Fire, including but not limited to the display of a roast chicken dinner when a player is victorious,” reads the press release.

What Krafton is Seeking from the Lawsuit?

In addition to seeking the court to order the removal of Free Fire and Biubiubiu video clips from YouTube and the confiscation of copies of any infringing works, Krafton is also asking the court to halt the sale and distribution of any games that infringe on its legal rights. Additionally, it demands unspecified monetary damages.

Krafton has objected to Garena’s work in the past as well. The publisher claimed in its lawsuit that it settled with Garena in 2017 over the launching of a PUBG-like game in Singapore. Krafton emphasized that neither a licensing agreement nor permission for Garena to market its games in the US was included in that deal.