In a landmark case this week, a Chinese court awarded Blizzard and NetEase more than US$565,000 in a copyright infringement case. Two games from China’s 4399 Network and its subsidiary were accused of copying Overwatch, a globally popular shooter game.
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Images posted on the court’s Weibo account show visual similarities between the clones and Overwatch. The ruling finds that the Chinese games copied core elements and designs from Overwatch, including character appearance, skills, map routes, and team composition.
These aren’t the first games from China accused of ripping off overseas blockbusters. Over the years, we’ve seen Chinese titles that look similar to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Fortnite, Rainbow Six Siege and PUBG.