Call of Duty’s Latest Ghost Skin May Be a Tribute to Death Stranding

gamerant.com:

The new skin for Simon «Ghost» Riley in Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 is close to being the spitting image of the mysterious antagonist Higgs from Death Stranding. Whether the resemblance was intentional or not, the likeness is clear as day, and it would not be the first time Call of Duty has taken inspiration from and paid homage to other hit franchises.

Modern Warfare 2 is currently in the tail end of its Season 2 following the release of Season 2 Reloaded, with Season 3 due sometime in the middle of April. While fans have reacted positively to the long-awaited introduction of Ranked Play and the Himmelmatt Expo map, the game remains no stranger to criticism and controversy. The new marksman rifle, the Tempus Torrent, is facing accusations of being overpowered, while bugs and other areas of imbalance remain prevalent.

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Included in the new Bone Chiller Tracer Pack, available in the in-game store for Modern Warfare 2, is a skin for Ghost which looks an awful lot like Higgs from Death Stranding. The gilded skull half-mask with a black hood and attire all match the garb of the porter-turned-terrorist. While there are subtle distinctions between the two, most obvious of which are the sunglasses that Ghost is sporting with the skin, the likeness is too close to ignore. Call of Duty has faced accusations in the past of stealing art assets for its skins, but optimistic fans believe this to be more of an unlicensed tribute than creative theft. Whatever the truth may be, it is worth noting that the default skin for Ghost features a skull mask, making the tracer pack skin more of a recolor than anything else, and the gilded skull is also vaguely akin to the one