Has EA Been Caught Stealing Designs From a Tabletop Game_

EA Phenomic’s upcoming “social” take on Command & Conquer, Tiberium Alliances, hasn’t gathered much good press. Probably because it looks about as enjoyable as punching yourself unconscious. It might be in line for a little more bad press, though, given the similarity between some of its unit designs and those found in tabletop war game Warhammer 40k.(new Image()).src = 'https://capi.connatix.com/tr/si?token=995c4c7d-194f-4077-b0a0-7ad466eb737c&cid=872d12ce-453b-4870-845f-955919887e1b'; cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "995c4c7d-194f-4077-b0a0-7ad466eb737c" }).render("79703296e5134c75a2db6e1b64762017"); }); https://kotaku.com/command-conquer-looks-very-sad-as-a-browser-game-5893789 Now, designs looking like rummy win other designs is nothing new. It’s how art works, even in video games. Inspiration and homage are everywhere. Just look at how strongly StarCraft was influenced by, again, Warhammer 40K. But what EA is being accused of here isn’t inspiration, it’s straight up theft. https://kotaku.com/before-starcraft-there-were-space-marines-5591285 In question are two unit designs for the game’s “Forgotten” faction, the Bombard and Grinder tanks. Eagle-eyed Warhammer fans have noticed that they’re not just similar to vehicles introduced to the tabletop series over fifteen years ago (and to which rival publishers THQ own the video game yono all app rights). They’re almost identical Below are the units compared with their Warhammer counterparts, the relatively obscure Ork Bonecruncha and the not-at-all obscure Imperial Guard Baneblade. Yes. Hrm. While you could make the argument that the yono apk game isn’t technically “out” yet, and thus EA has time to change the offending designs, it has been in “open beta” for nearly a month now, so in many ways the damage has been already done. We’ve contacted EA for comment, and will update if we hear back. Ork Bonecruncha also plagiarized in new C&C [Reddit]