Fortnite accused of copying Among Us for their new 'Impostor' mode

Epic Games', battle royale, Fortnite is well known for its wacky collabs and tie-ups with real-life characters. This time, however, Fortnite is making headlines for the wrong reasons, as accusations of plagiarism have been cropping up against it.

The cause for concern is Fortnite's new Impostor mode, which is a slightly modified version of Among Us, played in the Fortnite universe. The debate has been raging on Twitter, with the developers of Among Us themselves weighing in on the situation and expressing their disappointment.

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Fortnite's "Impostors mode" labeled as an Among Us ripoff

For those unfamiliar, Fortnite's Impostor mode puts a lobby of 10 players against each other in the pursuit of finding the saboteurs. Normal players, will join the Agents side, are tasked with performing activities across the map, while the Impostors must sabotage their progress and kill the agents.

The game mode looks a lot like Among Us, and players are chuffed that Fortnite didn't even acknowledge the developers of the indie game.

Fucking hell fortnite really just copied among us lmao

— Mutahar (@OrdinaryGamers) August 18, 2021

It's fucked up, AU is a real small team and fortnite just ripped it wholesaleInb4 "but AU just TTT", the fortnite thing is very clearly specifically made to ape among us https://t.co/xGFOdvFbGr

— Lone (@lonelytiefling) August 17, 2021

It's the way Fortnite shamelessly copied Among Us and they didn't approve. 💀 pic.twitter.com/ivMWXtcPeh

— JOURDON⚡ (@DynamoSuperX) August 17, 2021

This is a side-by-side of Fortnite’s new “Imposters” game mode map, and the original Among Us map.Social deduction games aren’t new, but especially seeing the map similarities, it’s just a huge bummer that Epic didn’t reach out to properly collab with @InnerslothDevs. https://t.co/MHyWCwTnBd

— Alanah Pearce (@Charalanahzard) August 17, 2021

While it is known that Among Us itself is not an original concept (it is based on the social deduction game Mafia), the concern is about Epic Games' blatantly piggybacking Among Us nomenclature and brand properties like Impostors.

YOU COULD HAVE LITERALLY CHOSEN ANY OTHER WORD FOR THE GAMEMODE AND YOU CHOSE IMPOSTER.I’m never getting away from this among us shit 🚬 pic.twitter.com/myp0l2WAvd

— Swipes (@SwipeAwayy) August 17, 2021

Fortnite making an Imposters Mode in their game and hoping Among Us doesn't notice like: pic.twitter.com/WA8F7yrsQC

— TRAFON(s Backup Account) (@RiseFallNickBck) August 18, 2021

Fortnite: Hey can we copy your homework?Among Us: Yeah, just change it a bit so the teacher doesn’t know. Fortnite: pic.twitter.com/FPY8DVupVa

— Jennifer Jasmin (@Katvara) August 18, 2021

I usually applaud Epic's Fortnite updates and events, but this Among Us copy-paste mode is a little too on the nose. Why Epic couldn't have just reached out to the 7 size dev team to do an official collab IDK. Seems like a missed opportunity and a spit in the face to indie devs.

— JustJarrod (@justjarrod_) August 18, 2021

One another proof that ideas are cheap. You may have a "headstart" with some fresh idea, but soon enough: many will try to copy or replicate your ideas, success. Fortnite is doing it second time btw 😉 https://t.co/Jrfia0PQsJ

— Konrad Kołakowski (@vashpan) August 18, 2021

The developers of Among Us themselves shared a statement about how Epic Games completed ignored their efforts to collab and went ahead to create a game mode that is essentially a clone of their property.

like game mechanics fine, those shouldn't be gatekept, but at the very least even different themes or terminology makes things more interesting? 😕

— Victoria Tran 🧋 (@TheVTran) August 17, 2021

"We didn't patent the Among Us mechanics. I don't think that leads to a healthy game industry. Is it really that hard to put 10% more effort into putting your own spin on it though? Worst part is we've been actively trying to collab with them." - PuffBallsUnited

While many fans are upset about the game mode, a few outliers believe that Epic Games has done enough to differentiate itself from Among Us, and the concept/genre of a game cannot just be attributed to one company.

It isn't a copy paste since:1. It uses Fortnite's Engine and has lots of Fortnite lore's in it.2. It has some abilities that aren't in Among Us like teleporting all crewmates or disguising everyone as bananas3. You are halting evolution in gaming since you aren't letting free+

— Mαz. (@itzMaz95) August 18, 2021

Y'all be complaining that Fortnite made a better Among Us copy. 🥱There's tons of other games that copied I'm preeeetty sure.

— Vizz (@Vizz_Bizz) August 18, 2021

Its murder mystery, i dont like fortnite but the fact that every murder mystery gamemode is called an among us copy is dumb af.

— JTtheFREE (Tranzit King) (@JTthyFREE) August 18, 2021

As the debate rages on, Epic Games continues to remain silent on the matter and have not shared a statement regarding the similarities yet.