Among Us developers push back on Fortnite’s ‘Impostors’ mode
‘Is it really that hard to put 10% more effort,’ Innersloth co-founder tweets
Fortnite’snew limited-time event, Impostors, is basically a straight lift ofAmong Us.Not only that, it’s the second time in nine months Epic Games’ battle royale has detoured into Innersloth’s turf, and their developers aren’t happy with it.
“Is it really that hard to put 10% more effort into putting your own spin on it though?” tweeted Marcus Bromander, the studio’s co-founder. Programmer Adriel Wallickposted a link to a webcomic, more or less accusing Epic of taking their work. Gary Porter, another programmer, compared Impostors’ map toAmong Us’ spaceship, The Skeld, suggesting that Epic had gone so far as to crib its layout, too:
Impostors, announced yesterday, even takes its name fromAmong Us’s alien infiltrators. In theFortnite event, a group of 10 players is trying to discover who among them are the two Impostors. The Impostors are trying to eliminate these Agents without being discovered; Agents are trying to complete tasks that will get their starship to its destination safely. The group routinely meets to discuss who the Impostors might be, and accuse others of being one. All of these are core features ofAmong Us’gameplay loop.
Bromander said his studio didn’t try to patent or copyrightAmong Us’s game mechanics as “I don’t think that leads to a healthy game industry.” It’s also not clear whether those features, as opposed to actual computer code or unique visual designs, could get patent or copyright protections.
In 2018, the makers ofPlayerUnknown’s Battlegroundssued Epic Games overFortnite Battle Royale, the mode that Epic launched in September 2017.Fortnite Battle Royaleturned what had been a PvE base-building game into a worldwide esports phenomenon, and an extremely lucrative one at that.PUBGhad launched in early access the preceding spring, and many of its battle royale rules and features are replicated inFortnite. But a month after bringing the lawsuit in Korea, PUBG Corp.dropped the claim, after reaching a confidential settlement with Epic.
Polygon reached out on Wednesday morning to an Epic Games representative for the company’s reaction to Innersloth’s remarks, and the public perception thatFortnitehas again copied one of the most popular gaming formats of the moment. We haven’t heard back as of publication time.
On Tuesday, Callum Underwood, a business representative for Innersloth, tweeted that the studio andAmong Usare open to collaborations and cross-overs, and keep stock contracts on-hand to fill in with the particulars of such arrangements. “Just ask and if you follow some basic rules it’s usually fine,”Underwood wrote.
Fortniteisno stranger to cross-overs, of course — it’s been the game’s stock-in-trade for all of the current year of content.Fortnite has done video game crossovers withSony’sGod of War,Capcom’sStreet Fighter, and2K Games’Borderlands, over the past two years. We’ve also asked Epic Games whether it considered, or would consider, a formal collaboration with Innersloth andAmong Us.
