Things are not looking good for NetEase's 5v5 mobile FPS game, Hyper Front, which has caught the attention of Riot Games.
Riot Games is reportedly filing lawsuits against publisher NetEase over its mobile shooter game Hyper Front. The game is a 5v5 FPS game with abilities, which Riot's lawyers claim has committed copyright infringement on their shooter game Valorant.
In addition to "significant" but unidentified sums for damages, Riot Games is requesting an injunction, which would likely effectively shut down Hyper Front.
Following the complaint, Riot has launched lawsuits in the legal systems of numerous nations, including the UK, Germany, Brazil, and Singapore, in an effort to prevent NetEase from distributing mobile games and seeking monetary damages.
Riot has a history of copyright lawsuits. The company has filed a lawsuit against third parties for allegedly copying Teamfight Tactics and League of Legends.
Recently, Riot has filed a lawsuit against Moonton for its similar MOBA game, Mobile Legends, according to Tech Times. In China, Tencent, Riot's parent company, has won cases involving League of Legends imitations.
Is Hyper Front Mobile Game a Valorant Copy?
Riot's copyright infringement claims on Hyper Front may prove evident as Valorant was released back in 2020, while the latter was released only recently this year.
In the suit, PC Gamer reports that Riot listed a number of parallels between the two games. Game elements such as Characters, maps, weapons, weapon skins, and charms were all a subject of the complaint as they share distinct similarities to Valorant's.
According to the studio's lawsuit, NetEase did alter Hyper Front a little following Riot's initial concerns, Riot claims that the copyright infringement goes further than that.
A lawyer representing Riot Games shared with Polygon that the company has noticed how their creative decisions are reflected in the Hyper Front mobile game.
"We don't think that changing the color of a character ability or slightly modifying the visual appearance changes the fact that it's copyright infringement. It's like that old saying, 'You can put lipstick on a pig, but it's still a pig.'" According to Riot's statement.
Several YouTubers have pointed out the similarities between the two games since Hyper Front's release, similar to this video comparison by Perfect Gaming.
'Valorant' Mobile Game is Still in the Works
Aside from the blatant copyright infringement, perhaps Riot Games has finally made a move on NetEase considering that they are also planning to release their own mobile game from Valorant.
According to GINX, Valorant Mobile is currently in the works and now in the early stages of testing, therefore taking that into account, its debut date is later than anticipated. 2024 has been mentioned in rumors, however, there has been no supporting proof.
However, this might be the window for the game's worldwide release, and in 2023, fans may witness a beta or soft launch, similar to what happened with the original Valorant on PC platforms.
