Score One For Artists As Activision Removes Plagiarized "Loyal Samoyed" Cosmetics From Call Of Duty
Activision says it "erred in its process" this time...
Cosmetic skins can be great. Some players love and collect them and companies can't wait to put another one in their cash shops to make even more money. When those skins aren't yours to sell though, that's when problems arise.
That's exactly what happened when Activision attempted to add (and of course sell) a "Loyal Samoyed" cosmetic to Call of Duty: Warzone. Sure, the cosmetic for operator Kim Tae Young looked awesome, and fluffy, and...yeah, just awesome...but it wasn't theirs.
Taking to Twitter last week, Saillin5 pretty much laid the plagiarism bare with a pretty detailed comparison showing the amazing amount of similarities between the new skin and art they posted to ArtStation back in December of 2019. It's a pretty open and shut case.
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
We talked about this accusation on our podcast last week and said we'd watch to see if there was any update from Activision or Raven Software. Today there was as Activision told Polygon that "We have the utmost respect for creativity and content creation. 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."
What they didn't say was that someone was fired for pushing this up the chain as their own creation or that any compensation would be given to the artist. While it's great to see them acknowledge the issue...that's really the bare minimum they need to do in these types of cases and it shouldn't just be up to individual artists to search the internet to see if their work is being stolen by some big AAA company.
Without consequences for the companies that have this happen, we'll just, sadly, continue to see it happen over and over again. This is even more likely given how much "creative" work is actually farmed out to smaller companies...but maybe I'm being cynical and things will change, we'll see.
About the Author

Mike “Magicman” Byrne has been a part of the MMOBomb family for years and serves as the site’s current Editor-in-Chief. His love for MMOs and gaming in general has led him to covering games for numerous websites including Gamebreaker TV and XIV Nation where he proudly displays his fanboy flag for FFXIV:ARR.
You May Enjoy
From Out Of Nowhere, Evolve: Stage 2 Is Back With The Return Of Online Peer-To-Peer Servers
Perhaps a dedicated community is all one game has ever really needed.
By Aspen Pash - 1 week agoRiders Republic Season 3 Is Here For Summer Complete With A "Climate March"
Players will also be able to participate in the first video game Climate March.
By Aspen Pash - 1 week agoGuild Wars Developer Is Now Hiring For An Unannounced Online Fantasy RPG With Multiplayer
Will this be a brand new game or something taking place in the Guild Wars IP??
By Aspen Pash - 1 week agoAliens: Fireteam Elite Season 4 Has Arrived Along With Crossplay And New Game Mode
Work with friends to keep the Xenomorphs at bay.
By Aspen Pash - 1 week agoWWE World Champ John Cena Is Finally Visible, Comes To Fortnite This Week For The "Epic SummerSlam" Event
Epic says there's no "invisibility feature" for the Cena outfits, and that's a missed opportunity.
By Anthony Jones - 1 week agoIs Grand Theft Auto Online Worth Playing in 2022? - Wilfredo Reviews
Let's switch it up a bit and roll into Los Santos as a new "online" player in 2022.
By Michael Byrne - 5 days ago
Discussion (2)