(Photo : Bungie / Screenshot taken from official website)
Destiny 2 developer Bungie is being accused of stealing a nine-year-old fan art and allegedly using it on the Ace of Spades NERF replica.
This particular weapon is one of the game's most iconic weapons and is an exotic hand cannon that belonged to Nathan Fillion's Cayde-6. The studio recently announced a NERF version of this gun that has an orange and black theme. It will have a matching in-game ornament that is coming next month.
Bungie Accused of Stealing Fan Art
However, many people have already taken to social media to point out one major problem with Bungie's latest design. This is because the Ace of Spades NERF replica was seemingly based on a particular piece of fan art.
Bungie's announcement said that the design was to celebrate Destiny's 10th anniversary. The Ace of Spades Blaster will be available for early access pre-order from Sept. 9, 2024, to Sept. 24, 2024, to players who have unlocked the Legend Title in the game, according to Kotaku.
Those who have unlocked this particular title and purchased the toy replica will also receive an exotic ornament for Ace of Spades known as Pocket Ace. This looks just like the NERF version of the gun and drops when Destiny 2's Episode 2 Revenant update arrives on Oct. 8, 2024.
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However, artist Tofu saw the design that Bungie put out and realized that it looked oddly similar to her work. She was able to achieve the Legend Title in Destiny 2 and the game notified her of her eligibility to buy the gun.
The artist then posted a side-by-side comparison of her 2015 fan art and Bungie's latest Ace of Spades NERF gun. The images showed major similarities, such as the Spades art as well as minor ones, including scratches on the gun's paint, said TheGamePost.
Ace of Spades NERF Blaster
This has put Bungie in hot water yet again as the comparison images show that specific brush strokes, patterns, and design elements are the same between the two. It seems that the studio carried over the artist's work to the official NERF gun.
It's worth noting that the latest design for the Destiny 2 gun is a collaboration with Nerf. This could mean that Bungie itself is not to blame for the use of the artist's work on the gun.
It is also entirely possible that someone contracted to make the design lifted art from nearly a decade ago and hoped that no one would notice, according to TheGamer.
Bungie has since released a statement addressing the situation, saying that it is already investigating it internally and with the partner. They are contacting the artist and will share more details upon learning more.
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