PubG creator says games need 'better protection' from copycat titles
- Published
"Look at movies, Armageddon came out then 20 other comet disaster films came soon after," Brendan Greene explains.
He claims elements of his game, Player Unknown's Battlegrounds (PubG), have been ripped off by other titles and he wants better protection from copycats.
Newly released on the Xbox One, PubG almost singlehandedly created a new genre, the Battle Royale game.
"I want other developers to put their own spin on the genre... not just lift things from our game," Brendan says.
More than 24 million people around the world have bought PubG on PC this year.
It's the most popular title on the PC games platform Steam and has become a gaming phenomenon.
In it, 100 players parachute onto an island with nothing but the clothes on their backs. They have to scavenge for supplies and weapons and fight until only one is left standing.
The game's premise is based on modifications of other shooting titles that Brendan worked on previously.
Now with a major release on the Xbox One it has made the new genre one of the hottest properties in gaming.
Speaking to the Radio 1 Gaming Show, Brendan says: "I want this genre of games to grow.
"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."
Since the success of PubG this year, other titles have borrowed many elements from the game, with some going further than others.
In China there are several titles playable that have the same premise, gameplay and even graphics.
Some are barely distinguishable from PubG itself, others have special licence, like a Terminator 2 themed version for example, to try and be slightly different.
Brendan explains: "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."
Brendan was talking to Radio 1's Gaming Show. The PubG episode of the series is coming to the BBC iPlayer in January.
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