Epic Store Removes Stolen Elden Ring Animations Amidst Bleak Faith Controversy

thegamer.com:

Bleak Faith: Forsaken unexpectedly found itself at the center of some significant controversy earlier this week. Its developer was accused of lifting animations from Elden Ring and using them in its own game. The studio claimed the assets had been purchased through Epic Marketplace. Epic has since responded to those claims and removed the assets from its store.

Meowmaritus appears to have been the first to notice some of Bleak Faith's animations bore a resemblance to movements found in The Lands Between. Not just animations inspired by Elden Ring, but when shown side by side it was evident they were identical. Upon claiming the animations were bought through Epic, the studio has responded and promptly removed them so another developer doesn't make the same mistake.

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Even though Epic has removed the assets from its marketplace, its statement (via Push Square) highlights that it can't verify all third-party content sold through its platforms. “As with any store that hosts third-party content... Epic is not in a position to independently verify such rights, and Epic makes no such guarantee to purchasers of the content,” Epic's response to the situation reads.

Bleak Faith developer Archangel explained roughly ten percent of the game's animations were outsourced through the Epic Marketplace. It also began the process of replacing them before Epic had responded, further suggesting this was an honest mistake and that the indie team had no idea it was using animations from Elden Ring. Archangel has since labeled Epic's response to the matter “unsatisfactory” and assured its players the animations are in the process of being replaced.

Bleak Faith certainly isn't the first game to have