PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds Developer Says Games Need More IP Protection

In a recent interview with BBC Radio 1’s Gaming Show (via Newsbeat), PlayerUnknown himself addressed the lack of copyright protection found within the video game industry, especially that pertaining to his own game PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds. Through he’s happy that the battle royale genre is taking off, he does think that something should be done to curtail rip-offs.

“I want other developers to put their own spin on the genre… not just lift things from our game. For that to happen you need new and interesting spins on the game mode. If it’s just copycats down the line, then the genre doesn’t grow and people get bored,” the developer stated.

“There’s no intellectual property protection in games. In movies and music there is IP protection and you can really look after your work. In gaming that doesn’t exist yet, and it’s something that should be looked into. Some amazing games pass under the radar. Then someone else takes the idea, has a marketing budget, and suddenly has a popular game because they ripped off someone else’s idea. I think it’s something the industry needs to look into. You’re protecting the work of artists basically. Games are art for a large part, and so I think it’s important they’re protected.”

PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds has been notably mimicked by Epic Games in their recent addition to Fortnite, appropriately named Battle Royale. There’s also the case of a Chinese mobile game that surfaced two months ago that essentially borrows everything from Battlegrounds, from its aesthetics to its gameplay. Strangely enough, the title also seems to be about Terminator 2.

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