Heel vs. Heel program
Mere weeks from the Loyal Samoyed controversy, Activision Blizzard is at the center of another plagiarism controversy pertaining to its military shooter franchise, Call of Duty. And once again, the accusations are pointing toward a brand new, but familiar-looking, character skin.
As reported by Polygon, the new plagiarism allegations are aimed at Call of Duty: Vanguard DLC skin “Doomsayer,” a frighteningly imposing figure bedecked in black, full-body tactical armor, a grim reaper-style hood, and one of those wanky digital facemasks then were popular for a hot minute at comic-book conventions. The programmable faceplate sports a grimacing skull, a common design for the billion-dollar franchise.
Have you tried turning it off and turning it back on again?
Shut down their systems with the Malware Ultra Skin Bundle, available now in #Vanguard and #Warzone. pic.twitter.com/3rrN0vjAhM
— Call of Duty (@CallofDuty) August 15, 2022
However, several parties have noted that the skin bears a striking resemblance to a skin previously teased for the still-in-development shooter Deadrop. Deadrop, as you may or may not know, is the NFT-based first-person shooter currently in development at fledgling studio Midnight Society, which was founded last year by controversial streamer Guy “Dr. Disrespect” Beahm.
The teased skin has been featured by Deadrop developer and Midnight Society studio head Robert Bowling, and veteran FPS developer who has previously worked with Infinity Ward on titles in the Call of Duty franchise. Bowling’s responded to the reveal of the Doomsayer skin on Twitter, simply offering a curt “At least name it after me.” Call of Duty‘s recurring character “Ghost” frequently adorns skull-based facial disguises, which sets a precedent for the Doomsayer look. But still, it’s undeniably uncanny.
The Variant database is LIVE!
Acceptance emails have been going out all day. Those accepted can log into their https://t.co/ojZyxO2JDJ accounts between July 5th – 7th to claim their Access Pass, view their traits, and soon download game builds.
Accessing https://t.co/RNtt1o6HUl pic.twitter.com/qpQoVb2zvo
— Robert Bowling (@fourzerotwo) July 2, 2022
As mentioned at the start of the article, this new controversy comes just a fortnight after Activision Blizzard pulled another Call of Duty skin, Loyal Samoyed, after the publisher was accused of stealing the design of fan artist and CoD player Sail Lin, whose “Monster Army” project features a wide range of anthropomorphic CoD character concepts, including a Samoyed medic in almost identical fatigues.
Call of Duty accused of swiping another skin, this time from a former employee [Polygon]
