Wargaming in World of Tanks cloning row

Wargaming is suing a Chinese game developer for a “disturbingly similar” title to its hugely successful MMO World of Tanks.

As reported by Polygon, the publisher has filed a lawsuit in a US district court based in Illinois against Project Tank, which also goes under the names of Tanks Ground War.

In its document filed to the court, Warmgaming labeled the game, developed by Changyou, “unoriginal and disturbingly similar game based on World of Tanks”, and that it “copied the plot, theme, dialogue, mood, setting, pace, and character of World of Tanks, in addition to copying specific features, items, tanks, and artwork”.

The developer also claims that textures and models have been ripped from World of Tanks and put into Project Tank, and that some of its patents related to dynamic battle session matchmaking in a multiplayer game are also being used.

It also said that Changyou had copied designs of tanks from World of Tanks “that never existed in real life”.

In its defence, Changyou said it was shocked by Wargaming’s claims, and that it had “never intended to post a threat or compete at any platform with World of Tanks”.

"We feel truly shocked and bullied by Wargaming, a giant company of the gaming industry who is apparently ‘threatened’ by a closed beta phase browser game aiming to provide a cheaper, fairer, and more accessible war game to players around the world,” read a statement from the Chinese developer.