The new CS:GO case has been embroiled in scandal since its release earlier this month. The Revolution case has caused quite a stir since it was added to the game.
With the release of the case, fans flocked to beat the CS:GO case odds to try and receive one of the 17 new skins added to the game. Two skins in particular caught the eye of players: the M4A4 Temukau, and the AWP Doodle Lore. The creators of the skins faced serious accusations within days of release, claiming the artwork for both was stolen.
The Allegations
The initial allegations came about the M4A4 Temukau skin. Popular skin creator Danidem posted a Twitter thread accusing artist f0rnez of plagiarising his entire anime collection, which the M4A4 skin is part of. As part of the allegations, Danidem posted a number of comparisons between f0rnez’ art, and other pieces, claiming the user was “cheating his way into the CS:GO Steam Workshop.”
Danidem’s allegations were not without response. Almost immediately, f0rnez replied, claiming that while inspiration was taken, each piece was an original. Later, f0rnez would go on to post a TikTok of the process of creating the M4A4 Temukau skin. While it proves that the art itself was hand-drawn, it doesn’t speak to whether the original drawing was plagiarized.
This situation continues to develop day by day, and the legal situation surrounding the M4A4 Temukau is unclear. While art theft is serious, both sides deserve to say their piece on the situation.
The next allegation came about the AWP Doodle Lore, which appears to be a replica of art by another artist. CS:GO contributor T-R3x3r made the allegations against skin creator Jimmba on Twitter, claiming that the doodles “match the AWP skin from the head to the tail.”
T-R3x3r would do further research on Jimmba’s skins. They would find that their MAC-10 Monkeyflage skin also had heavy similarities to some online artwork. The visual similarities are undeniable, although it remains to be seen how the situation unfolds going forward.
The original Doodle Lore artist is aware of the situation, and it’s believed that legal action is planned against Jimmba, who claims the art is completely original. If proven, these allegations could have serious ramifications. The AWP Doodle Lore was already among the rarest CS:GO skins, and any potential financial loss to the original artist could be significant.
The Next Steps
If these allegations are true, it’s unsure how Valve will handle the scenario. The company has dealt with art theft several times previously and has handled it differently each time. The first example is the M4A4 Howl, which was kept in-game but removed from all CS:GO cases immediately. This increased the price of the skin massively and is now one of the rarest skins in CS:GO.
Stolen art has occurred a few times since the M4A4 Howl. For example, the M4A4 Griffin, which in 2014 was the subject of a copyright strike. Each time Valve has redesigned the skin itself to avoid any further issues. However, as this becomes more prevalent, Valve’s responsibility to stop it becomes more serious. At present, the company is clearly not doing enough to stop these skins from making it into the game. With the kind of money involved in the best CS:GO skins, Valve must ensure that due diligence is completed before skins are added. It’s a situation that could put great artists off designing skins for CS:GO, which would be terrible for players.
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