Riot Sues Teamfight Tactics Copycats
Riot Games has sued a Vietnamese developer, accusing it of copying Teamfight Tactics. The similarities are indeed apparent.
As reported by Reuters, on January 20, 2022 Riot Games, the studio responsible for League of Legends filed a complaint in a Los Angeles court, accusing mobile game developer Imba Technology of intellectual property theft. According to Riot Games I Am Hero: AFK Tactical Teamfight is very much inspired by the universe and mechanics of Teamfight Tactics. In addition, LoL's developer suggests that the names of both the game and the studio itself are also clear references to Teamfight Tactics and Riot Games.
Teamfight Tactics is a spin-off of LoL, significantly different from it in terms of gameplay. It is a representative of the auto battler genre, available on PC and mobile devices. TFT features characters from Runeterra, a universe created by Riot Games, which can also be found in its main game. For this reason, taking inspiration from one of the titles results in drawing from almost the entire output of the creators. The game by Imba Technology, admittedly available only on mobile devices, represents the same genre, uses a similar graphic style, as well as... microtransaction system, which enables the creators to make money on this free game.
Copied elements in I Am Hero: AFK Tactical Teamfight are striking not only for the people responsible for TFT, but also for users of Google Play and App Store. The mechanics, visual style, and even character names are pointed out as being too similar to be considered a coincidence. Thus, Imba Technology;s game features a character named Zak (not to be confused with Zac), as well as Victor (completely unrelated to Viktor from LoL, who even appeared in Netflix's recent hit TV series Arcane). Entire lines of text, stories or skills of characters were stolen claims Riot.
Despite this, the game of Vietnamese creators enjoys considerable popularity. In Google Play I Am Hero: AFK Tactical Teamfight has been downloaded by over 500 thousand people. The game is currently rated at 3.8 stars. The App Store does not publicly release data on the number of downloads, but even there the ratings are overwhelmingly positive, with an average of 4.5/5 stars.
In its motion, Riot Games demands that Imba Technology be blocked from profiting from the game, financial compensation for damages, and reimbursement for costs associated with the lawsuit. The petitioner also highlights its attempts to contact the now-accused team, in response to which it was only to receive a statement denying any action to steal Riot Games' intellectual property.
