A new Call of Duty: Warzone and Vanguard skin has been added to the games as part of the “Tracer Pack: Malware Ultra Skin Bundle.” The skin in question, named “Doomsayer,” looks remarkably similar to a character created for the upcoming game Deadrop, a shooter in development by Midnight Society, whose team includes ex-Infinity Ward developer Robert Bowling and prominent streamer (and also ex-CoD dev) Dr Disrespect.
Call of Duty “Doomsayer” skin looks awfully familiar
As initially noticed by Twitter user @ModenasHD, the new Call of Duty Doomsayer skin looks very familiar:
I think @fourzerotwo (Robert Bowling) is going to be happy to see that Activision just added his own skin in #Vanguard ?
Maybe not… ->? pic.twitter.com/vZTyWIp2pZ— ??' -Hotel Six- ?? (@ModenasHD) August 16, 2022
Clearly noticing the tweet, Robert Bowling made the following comment in a separate post:
At least name it after me.
— Robert Bowling (@fourzerotwo) August 16, 2022
What makes this scenario even more awkward is that Activision has only recently apologized for stealing this dog skin. In that instance, artist @saillin5 had to call Activision out. This eventually resulted in the removal of artwork and the skin no longer being scheduled for release.
The game that the Call of Duty skin has potentially been “inspired” by, Deadrop, features a marketplace fueled in part by NFTs. The fact that one of the developer’s own skins has been allegedly copied in this way has a not-so-subtle layer of irony.
At the time of writing, the similarities between the two skins have only just been noticed. For now, there has been no official comment by Activision or Sledgehammer Games.
Unlike the previous controversial skin, the Call of Duty Doomsayer cosmetic has already launched on the store and currently remains purchasable as part of a bundle for 2,400 CP (around ~$20).
This post will be updated with any new developments from either Activision, Sledgehammer Games, or Midnight Society.
In other PlayStation news, GTA 6 will reportedly get single-player DLC. Another reference to a PlayStation PC launcher has been found. The MultiVersus season 1 battle pass has caused controversy over the Gleamium currency rewards.
