On July 30, artist Sail Lin accused Activision and Raven Software of plagiarizing one of his original artworks. The new-released outfit of Kim Tae Young called Loyal Samoyed looks much similar to the figure of a Samoyed dog medic Sail Lin designed and uploaded on ArtStation three years ago, as he declares, “even though I am also a COD player, I am very disappointed to see my work being plagiarized by a big company like Activision in this way.”
I have to explain this matter, COD Vanguard Samoye skin plagiarism.https://t.co/ltHTSNhEtf #CallofDutyVanguard #COD #Vanguard @Activision pic.twitter.com/OD2M4WNUms
— saillin (@saillin5) July 29, 2022
Sail Lin noticed the similarity between his design and what’s in the game on July 28, “Besides the Samoyed head, even the stripes of the scarf look much alike”. Currently, the artist says that he has reached out to Activision for an explanation. However, Activision hasn’t made any announcement on the event till now, and Raven Software has removed images featuring the Samoyed skin but is yet to respond.
The comparison between the Samoyed skin (left) and Sail Lin’s design (right)
Activision is not the only company accused of plagiarizing the Samoyed figure. A game called Next Generation by ShangHui Entertainment uses the image of a samoyed dog medic without permission. Galaxy’s Boundary by Etherous Games is also involved in the event, with the character Snow Wind suspected to plagiarize the Samoyed figure, while Sail Lin soon clarifies the company has the exclusive rights to use the image.
Sail Lin felt upset about the development. “My original intention is to create artworks I like and to entertain myself, but I have received hate mails after exposing the plagiarism of Activision”, he posted the message on Weibo, “I just hope the event could end as soon as possible.”
Source: Weibo