After Activision Blizzard swiftly pulled down the Call of Duty dog skin in Vanguard and Warzone likely due to plagiarism claims, some fans are wondering if it will ever return. The offending skin was meant to be part of the Floof Fury Tracer Pack and humorously depicted an anthropomorphized Samoyed dog covered in military gear. However, Raven Software has removed all images, blog posts, and videos across YouTube and all social media referencing the pack due to artist Sail Lin pointing to evidence that the developer stole his work posted on ArtStation in December 2019. So then, how likely is it that we’ll see this adorable dog skin again?
How will the Call of Duty dog skin controversy end?
Activision has contacted me, and I hope to have a result as soon as possible. Thank you for your concern. https://t.co/cOwlXKdtFt
— saillin (@saillin5) August 1, 2022
The latest information we have on the situation is that Activision has officially reached out to Sail Lin, as explained by the artist in the tweet posted above on August 1. In response to several replies to the tweet, Lin ensures that he will have a lawyer to protect himself and will post any new progress on the legal matter. In the original tweet posted on July 29, the artist explained that he was “disappointed to see [his] work being plagiarized by a big company like Activision.” At the time, he planned to reach out to the publisher “for an explanation and/or compensation” and hopes that “the situation will be settled soon.”
That said, it’s uncertain what the outcome of this will be. There is the possibility that Lin will allow Activision Blizzard to use the Call of Duty dog skin after he’s been given appropriate compensation. Imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery and the artist admits that he’s a “COD player,” so perhaps he would be happy enough to be paid and properly credited for his work.
In other news, Xbox Games Pass has added Ghost Recon Wildlands and more games for the first half of August 2022, and the MultiVersus leaked roster has revealed 31 new characters.