NetEase Games to shutdown Hyper Front following Riot’s Lawsuit

While we eagerly await the highly anticipated VALORANT Mobile, there were a few similar games that went ahead and were made available to gamers. One such game is Hyper Front, developed by China’s NetEase games. However, with only a year on the market, the game developer has announced that the game will no longer be playable from April 10 onwards.

The announcement that came from the official Twitter handle of Hyper Front, stated:

“With a heavy heart, we regret to inform you that we will be sunsetting Hyper Front and its servers will cease operations at 8:00 AM(UT+0) on April 10, 2023”

Is Riot’s lawsuit behind Hyper Front shutdown?

At the time of writing, NetEase Games hasn’t provided any particular reason for this sudden shutdown. However, it is possible that the game will be shut down because Riot Games sued NetEase at the end of 2022. Riot accused the developer of copying VALORANT and using similar characters, maps, and weapons without permission.

Indeed, taking a closer look at Hyper Front, the game gives a VALORANT vibe. Moving on to the gameplay concept, Hyper Front is an online FPS where two teams with five players each compete in tactical matches. It is known for its diverse range of playable characters, each with unique abilities and power-ups. The game features a wide range of weapons to cater to different gameplay styles.

While Riot Games is preparing for the mobile release of VALORANT later this year,  HyperFront receiving positive feedback might have raised concerns for the developer. So, the crackdown on the so-called “Valorant Mobile clone” would seem like a good move on their part. All things considered, it looks like NetEase Games has lost against Riot’s lawsuit and ultimately ended up with this shutdown.

Plagiarism in video games industry

Plagiarism in the video games industry is not something new. In the past, there were many instances when successful titles got their games copied by unauthorized studios. One such example is the release of Area F2 by Ejoy, which is a copy of Rainbow Six Siege. Ubisoft, the creator of “Rainbow Six”, took legal action against Ejoy and as a result, Area F2 was removed from the Android and Apple app stores and eventually canceled.

Will Hyper Front offer refunds to its players?

Finally moving to the most important doubt for Hyper Fronts players. What about those players who already spent a lot on cosmetics and other in-game stuff? Is there any chance of getting a refund on all this? Well, NetEase Games hasn’t bothered to discuss any sort of reimbursement.

In the end, it is safe to assume that the players who spent money on Hyper Front may not receive refunds. We only know that NetEase will erase all player data when the servers shut down next week.

Header: NetEase Games