According to media reports from Polygon and other Western sources, Square Enix in Japan has filed a lawsuit against HK Ten Tree Games, accusing the latter of infringing on the intellectual property rights of its “Front Mission” series of works, for which the development has been terminated, through the operation of the game “BlazeRush”.
The currently operating “BlazeRush” is a strategic turn-based SRPG that combines pilots with mechas. The game adopts a grid map turn-based combat system. Players, in the role of commanders, operate different types of mechas that can be customized and modified, and form teams with pilots to clear levels. The game has been launched simultaneously on mobile devices and the Steam platform.
It is rumored that “BlazeRush” was formerly a new work in the “Front Mission” series, “Front Mission: Borderscape”, which was authorized for development by Square Enix. The lawsuit documents show that SE did sign an authorization agreement with Shanghai Zishun Information Technology regarding this IP, but the cooperation was terminated in October 2022, leading to the suspension of the project.
SE alleges that after the authorization was terminated, the development team changed the project’s name to “BlazeRush” and continued its development, and launched the game in China in 2023. With the game’s global release, SE believes that “BlazeRush” has illegally used the content assets of “Front Mission: Borderscape”.
SE points out that “BlazeRush” not only is suspected of plagiarizing the mecha designs of “Front Mission”, but its character and system designs are also highly similar to those of “Front Mission: Borderscape”. In addition to filing lawsuits in the Tokyo District Court in Japan (case filed on March 4th) and the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington, SE will also hold Ten Tree Games liable for damages. Currently, Valve has removed the game’s Steam page in accordance with the DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act). The final outcome of this case is still pending judicial determination.
