Overwatch is one of Blizzard's cash cows, especially with over 30 million reported players across PC and consoles. It's hard not to like the team-based multiplayer first-person shooter — it's got action, complex maps, energy, playfulness, and sophisticated character designs to top it all off.
So it's no surprise that some want a piece of Blizzard's success, and others are willing do it in a manner that violates intellectual property and copyright laws.
Blizzard Sues 'Heroes Of Warfare'
Blizzard, along with NetEase, the game's Chinese operator, are suing 4399EN GAME for making Heroes of Warfare, a multiplayer online battle arena title that's also a blatant Overwatch clone.
Needless to say that Heroes of Warfare looks startlingly similar to Overwatch but with the graphics settings turned all the way down, as Game Rant puts it.
Similarities Between 'Overwatch' And 'Heroes Of Warfare'
Here's why: Part of the game's character roster is a purple-themed sniper woman similar to Widowmaker; an energy shield-wielding anime verison of Reinhardt; a girl version of Lucio; and a Solider: 76 clone but with pink hair. The characters designs share a similarity with Hero Mission, another blatant Overwatch clone from China that caused controversy earlier this year.
But the similarities go beyond character designs, as Heroes of Warfare also includes maps that appear to be directly based off locations in Overwatch, such as Ilios Well, Numbani, Nepal, and Hanamura. The game also ends with medal cards, and its tooltips are using the font found in Overwatch's tooltips. There's so much to cover here, but it's safe to say Blizzard and NetEase have a strong, airtight case against the Chinese developer.
As PC Watch reports, Blizzard and NetEase are seeking an apology and restitution. They are also requesting for the game to be removed from the App Store. They're saying the game violates intellectual property and China's unfair competition law.
Take a look at some screenshots of the game below:
Overwatch is available on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. Hopefully, Blizzard takes this clone as a cue that it needs to port Overwatch into mobile platforms soon since there's obviously a demand for it. Better yet, why not make a Nintendo Switch port of the game altogether since it's technically a handheld platform? Sure, Nintendo's hybrid console isn't as powerful as its rivals, but if Doom and Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus are able to run on the machine, why can't Overwatch?
Thoughts about Overwatch or Heroes of Warfare? Do you think Blizzard and NetEase have a strong case against the Chinese developer? As always, feel free to sound off in the comments section below!
