Famous weapons manufacturer allegedly stole design for futuristic shotgun from a shooter

Weapons in video games are often inspired by or directly depicting real counterparts. There is currently a discussion about whether the AK-47 manufacturer Kalashnikov has turned this tables. A new futuristic shotgun design is said to have been stolen from the upcoming shooter “Oceanic”, claims developer Ward B. But what is it really about?

What happened? Like David against Goliath, the indie developer Ward B is currently up against the world-famous gun manufacturer Kalashnikov. The allegation: A shotgun design is said to have been stolen from their shooter Oceanic, which is in development (via youtube.com). Kalashnikov has denied any allegations, while the indie developer claims to have evidence for the allegations.

MP-155 Ultima: That is why the allegations do not lead to an agreement

What’s the charge? Developer Ward B claims that the Russian MP-155 Ultima shotgun is a product of their intellectual property. Gun manufacturer Kalashnikov, on the other hand, rejects all allegations – almost all of them. When the gun was first announced, they actually stated that the futuristic design was inspired by several video games (via facebook.com).

Ward B CEO Marcellino Sauceda said he was contacted a year ago by a Kalashnikov contractor. He wanted to implement the “Mastodon EPM-28” weapon from Oceanic as a real weapon. Allegedly, the Kalashnikov employee promised to name the developer as the owner of the design.

Now CEO Sauceda is publicly speaking again on this debate. He explains that he thought he missed the license deal confirmation when he saw the MP-155 in an online showcase. When he looked up the Kalashnikov website, however, there was no mention of Oceanic or Ward B. The developer studio had waited for a while, hoping that news would come from the gun manufacturer – in vain.

I already had such a suspicion that the contractor wasn’t going to come back.

Sauceda to IGN

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What are the next steps? The Russian arms manufacturer continues to deny that the Oceanic shotgun was stolen. That’s why they continued to use the design in 2020 and 2021 without paying any tribute to Ward B. At least there is no evidence.

Regardless of whether the weapon is really from Oceanic or not, developer Ward B cannot improve his situation in this case. The team does not have nearly enough funds for a legal dispute on this level, says CEO Sauceda.

What are the consequences? It’s difficult to say if Kalashnikov really stole the design from the upcoming multiplayer shooter. The weapons actually look very similar, but show clear differences in some places.

So there are currently no consequences for anyone. However, Ward B is now much more cautious about sharing artworks or concept designs online. The team would like to prevent another case like this.

It’s a big loss for the team behind Oceanic, because the PR that a deal with Kalashnikov would have brought is gigantic. Instead, the survival shooter “Escape From Tarkov” is now doing PR for Kalashnikov. As of this year, Tarkov players have been able to earn or buy the MP-155 Ultima and adapt it to their own needs.