There is a lot of controversy surrounding a Call of Duty skin. An artist has accused Activision Blizzard and, by extension, Call of Duty: Vanguard maker Raven Software of plagiarising their work. Raven Software has since removed the Floof Fury Tracer Pack (alleged plagiarism) from its YouTube and social media channels. Polygon also noticed that Raven’s post about the pack did not mention the skin.
Artist Sail Lin shared a comparison of the skin pack and their artwork. Both pictures depict an adorable bipedal Samoyed dog dressed in military-style gear, including a belt pouch, open-frame weapon stock and back-slung weapon stock. Both models are in a similar colour palette. They both have a similarly-cut overcoat and baggy pants.
“I am the original artist from which the CoD Vanguard Samoyed skin was plagiarized,” stated Sail Lin via Twitter. “Even though CoD players, I am very disappointed that my work has been plagiarized in this manner by big companies like Activision.” I have contacted Activision for clarification and compensation. I hope the matter will be resolved soon.
Sail Lin, an artist, first uploaded their military dog to artstation under “Samoyed Medical” in December 2019. This was part of a series called The Dog Army. You can also find designs such as a bulldog riot officer or a Doberman pinscher marksdog.
Part of the Floof Fury package, the Loyal Samoyed skin is for Kim Tae Young, a Call of Duty operator. These skins are unusual for a military shooter but not more than recent additions like The Terminator or Die Hard skins.
Art plagiarism is a problem that can be found in large game publishers. Similar problems have been experienced in the past by large game publishers like Magic: The Gathering Online and The Elder Scrolls Online. It’s a positive sign that the offensive material has been removed from social media.
