Ubisoft sues Google and Apple to get alleged Rainbow Six Siege clone removed from stores

Ubisoft isn’t happy about Ejoy.com’s free-to-play Area F2, which they allege is a blatant clone of, very-much-not-free-to-play, Rainbow Six Siege, so they’re suing Google and Apple to get it removed from their mobile stores.

Area F2 is a mobile tactical shooter featuring a collection of playable agents, based on real-life special forces roles, each with their own unique abilities, separated into two categories – attackers and defenders. Pretty much the same as Rainbow Six Siege. But it’s not the gameplay similarities that Ubisoft is suing over, game mechanics aren’t generally copyrightable, it’s the visual similarities that Ubisoft claims cannot “seriously be disputed”.

But why is Ubisoft suing Google and Apple, instead of the game’s actual developer or publisher? Because Ejoy.com (owned by Alibaba) is based in China, making successful legal action against them very unlikely. Also, Ubisoft previously asked Google and Apple to remove Area F2 from their stores, due to copyright infringement, but they refused. Hence, the lawsuit filed last week in federal court in Los Angeles.

When everyone seems to be referring to the game as Rainbow Six Siege Mobile, Ubisoft may have a point. Who knows if it’ll be enough to get Area F2 taken down, for Western audiences at least.