The makers of the wildly popular video game Fortnite are facing a lawsuit from a rival company that claims the game violates intellectual property.
The PUBG Corporation, the makers of PlayerUnkonwn's Battlegrounds, filed the lawsuit against Epic Games, claiming that Fortnite copied the "last-man standing" game concept.
MORE: Fortnite: What it is and why it is so popular
According to the BBC, PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds was first released in March 2017. Fortnite was first released a few months later in July, but didn't release its popular "Battle Royale" mode until September.
Both Battlegrounds' and Fortnite's Battle Royale mode both host up to 100 players online at a single time. The object of both games is to eliminate all other players and be the last person standing, and both games take place on an island.
According to The Verge, both games were also developed on Unreal Engine 4, a system developed by Epic Games.
However, the games do have notable differences: Fortnite allows players to gather materials and build fortresses and barriers.
While PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds has waned in popularity, Fortnite has exploded around the world. Up to 3 million will be playing the game at one time, and millions more will watch professional gamers and celebrities play the game on the streaming service Twitch.
Alex Hider is a writer for the E.W. Scripps National Desk. Follow him on Twitter @alexhider.
