South Korean game publishers on Thursday urged the government to take strong action against counterfeit games distributed by Chinese peers, citing them as a big threat to the country’s game industry that has rapidly grown in recent years with a few global hit games.

The Korea Association of Game Industry issued a statement saying that a growing number of Chinese game companies are releasing copycat games of Korean originals that replicate not only graphics and play methods of the original ones but also their characters and skill names.

In the case of arcade-type action game Dungeon Fighter Online developed by Neople Corporation, there are dozens of counterfeit games that infringe copyrights available in China after the game has become hugely popular in the country, according to the game association. When it comes to multiplayer online battle game PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds developed by Bluehole Inc., about 20 copycat games were serviced illegally even before the official launch of the original game.

Other Korean games suffering from copyright infringement include fantasy role-playing game MU Online developed by Webzen Inc., multiplayer online role-playing games Aion and Blade & Soul by NCSoft Corp., massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) Stone Age by Netmarble Games Corp., The Legend of Mir by Wemade Entertainment Co., mobile puzzle game Anipang by SundayToz Corp., and café owner experiencing game I Love Coffee by Pati Games Inc.

The association said Korean game companies have warned the Chinese peers that have violated copyrights and have taken some cases to an international court to block illegal services, which normally takes so long that it is often too late to recoup damages already done to the original game. It demanded that it is time for the Korean government to come up with strong measures to counter such illegitimate actions and effective measures to protect domestic companies and their rights.

By Yoo Tae-yang and Lee Eun-joo

[ⓒ Pulse by Maeil Business News Korea & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]