Tencent and NetEase, two major players, have started a new dispute over their UGC maps for their games.
On March 28, @ Qianzhongjiu, the creator of the well-known UGC map "Yinlan" of NetEase's "Egg Boy Party", released a video in Tiktok, saying that because the map he created was copied for a long time and many times in the "Star of the Yuan Dream", he has filed a lawsuit with Tencent, and the case has been accepted and will be heard in May.
Subsequently, the official Weibo account of @ NetEase Egg Party also posted an article stating that plagiarism is not an isolated case, and that frequent creators have spoken out about the phenomenon of park works being plagiarized and moved, hoping to protect their original works. The official mentioned that the "Creator Rights Protection Center" was launched earlier this year and has received nearly a hundred requests for rights protection from creators so far. "We will hire a professional team of lawyers to provide comprehensive legal assistance to the author, and bear all possible legal costs, including litigation fees, notarization fees, and legal fees."
According to the Tianyancha App, the cause of the case in question is a copyright ownership and infringement dispute. The plaintiff is Mr. W, and the defendants include Shenzhen Tencent Computer System Co., Ltd., Tencent Technology (Shanghai) Co., Ltd., Shenzhen Tencent Tianyou Technology Co., Ltd. The case will be heard in the Intermediate People's Court of Nanjing City, Jiangsu Province on May 15th.
@Qianzhong Jiu stated in the video that his created map "Yin Lan" was "pixel level" plagiarized, "whether it is the overall logic, gameplay settings, or prop placement, some even have the same color, almost copied one by one.". The creators also mentioned that many original authors, including themselves, have had similar experiences.
The so-called UGC map refers to the map that players spontaneously create within the game. Through the game's built-in map editing tools, players can freely create, design, and share the map, and share these creations with other players to achieve content sharing and dissemination. UGC maps have become one of the core gameplay and core competitiveness of party games like Egg Party.
In the domestic party gaming industry, NetEase's "Egg Party" initially gained popularity with its UGC map and became a new hit with monthly activity exceeding 100 million yuan. In December of last year, Tencent launched "Yuanmeng Star" against "Egg Party", investing a lot of resources and investment, and the gaming industry was filled with gunpowder.
For "Yuanmeng Star", Tencent is a must win. At the 2023 Tencent Annual Meeting in January, Tencent Chairman and CEO Ma Huateng emphasized "Yuanmeng Star" when discussing the gaming business. He said, "Games are our flagship business, and currently the world's largest gaming company seems to be on the credit list for success." He mentioned the casual family party game "Yuanmeng Star" that he has invested in in the past two months. "Although it is late, it is not only a game for us, but also has a social component. This is our main stronghold, and we must give it our all. We also require all businesses to combine and explore common development."
Tencent President Liu Chiping mentioned "Yuanmeng Star" during a conference call for Tencent's 2023 Q3 report. He stated that throughout the gaming market, people's interest in casual games is increasing, and their interest in content driven games is also increasing. This is a new opportunity for building and investing; Quota; For casual games, we have already operated the largest casual game platform and are also seeking to operate popular casual games with UGC functionality, such as Yuanmeng Star& Amp; Quota;
"Egg Party" is a hit in the gaming industry in 2023, with over 30 million daily active players, making it the game with the highest number of daily active users in NetEase's history. As NetEase's new growth engine, NetEase also attaches great importance to this game.
It is expected that the two betting games will once again erupt into conflict due to the same track, official attention, and positive intersection. However, the recent dispute between Tencent and NetEase is not limited to this one. On March 22nd, the official lawyer's letter from NetEase's "Yin Yang Shi" mobile game accused Tencent's "King of Glory" of plagiarism.
Subsequently, "King of Glory" responded urgently late at night, believing that "Yin Yang Master" had repeatedly posted false content through its official account that denigrated "King of Glory" in an attempt to gain attention. "King of Glory" stated that it had completed the investigation and evidence collection, and would take legal measures to seriously retaliate. "High frequency hitting porcelain is not advisable, focusing on oneself is the right path."