Five and a half years ago, KRAFTON (then called PUBG Corporation) filed a lawsuit against NetEase in the US District Court - Northern District of California, alleging that the mobile Battle Royale games Rules of Survival and Knives Out had been basically copied from Playerunknown's Battlegrounds.
After a drawn-out legal fight, KRAFTON has now provided an update via a press release, announcing it has settled the litigation with NetEase.
KRAFTON goes to great lengths to develop and expand its intellectual property for fans to enjoy and play together and is dedicated to safeguarding the unique elements that define its user gaming experiences – from innovative content to cutting-edge technology.
In March 2020, NetEase and KRAFTON commenced litigation in California state court to resolve a
contract dispute relating to Knives Out and PUBG. After the court entered its Amended Final Statement of Decision, the parties settled the matter to avoid further litigation.
As an innovator in the gaming industry, KRAFTON has consistently pushed the boundaries of creativity and technology. KRAFTON is committed to continuing its intellectual property protection efforts in order to maintain the integrity of its unique gaming content and proprietary technologies for the enjoyment of its users.
Wccftech also received a copy of the Amended Final Statement of Decision signed by Superior Court Judge Robert D Foiles.
Krafton has prevailed in proving Netease breached the terms of their contract; however,
Krafton has failed to prove actual damages. Consequently, this court awards Krafton [REDACTED] in liquidated damages for Knives Out, Rules of Survival, and Survival Royal. Finally, after review
of all of the evidence, this court exercises its discretion and denies Krafton’s request for
injunctive relief.
No information was shared on the amount of damages the two companies have settled on.
PUBG isn't nearly the juggernaut it used to be when this lawsuit was filed, so KRAFTON is moving forward with new projects. After the disappointing launch of The Callisto Protocol, KRAFTON's roadmap includes:
- Dark and Darker Mobile (1H 2024)
- PUBG Black Budget (an extraction shooter spin-off of Playerunknown's Battlegrounds targeting a 2H 2024 release)
- Project inZOI, a life simulation game, in 2H 2024
- Project Gold Rush, an action/adventure sandbox game in development at Vector North for a targeted release in 1H 2025
- Subnautica game scheduled by 1H 2025
About the author: With over two decades of experience in gaming journalism, Alessio Palumbo has led the gaming vertical at Wccftech since August 2015. He started working at a young age for Italian websites like Everyeye.it, Gamestar.it, Nextgame.it, and Multiplayer.it before kickstarting the indie English-language publication Worlds Factory as its founder and Editor in Chief. In the last decade, he has coordinated the overall output of Wccftech's gaming section, managed PR relations, assigned reviews, produced daily news coverage, edited gaming content as needed, and delivered game reviews. Arguably, his trademark content is the long series of exclusive developer interviews that have been cited by Wikipedia and by the biggest news media and gaming publications. His passion for technology also makes him knowledgeable when it comes to gaming hardware and tech. His favorite genres include RPGs, MMORPGs, and action/adventure games.
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