Activision is once again under fire for allegedly plagiarizing a skin in Call of Duty: Warzone. Before it was a two-year-old concept image on ArtStation, and now it's concept art from Dr Disrespect's upcoming NFT-based shooter, Deadrop.
The similarities were noted right away by Twitter users. On the left, we see the Deadrop concept art for one of the many "Variant" operatives. On the right, the new "Doomsayer" skin from Call of Duty’s Tracer Pack Malware Ultra Skin bundle. Both are armored characters wearing a hood and featuring a digital visor projecting an image of a blue skull.
Robert Bowling, studio head at Deadrop developer Midnight Society, shared his "Variant 402" last month when announcing the acceptance emails for Deadrop Founders Passes. Those that founded Deadrop received one of 10,000 Variants--NFTs representing their in-game avatars. Most seem to have a very cyberpunk look to them, which fits in with Deadrop’s dystopian future.
Bowling wrote on Twitter, "At least name it after me," seemingly in response to finding out about the almost identical Doomsayer skin in Call of Duty.
This latest incident comes just weeks after Activision removed "Loyal Samoyed" skin after a concept artist accused the Call of Duty publisher of plagiarism. Sail Lin posted a comparison of her "Samoye Medical" concept art and Call of Duty's new skin for operator Kim Tae Young, noting identical features between the two. Later on, Lin tweeted she'd been contacted by Activision, and soon after, Activision removed the Loyal Samoyed skin from Call of Duty.
"We have the utmost respect for creativity and content creation," wrote Activision in its apology. "We love the Loyal Samoyed, but regrettably we erred in our process and have removed this imagery from the game. We apologize for the misstep."