Bleak Faith: Forsaken is an indie Soulslike game that was recently released. However, it was soon noticed that some of the assets in the game were suspiciously similar to assets from games by FromSoftware, a major player in the gaming industry. Archangel Games, the developers of Bleak Faith: Forsaken, have now removed the assets as Epic Games, the developer of the Unreal Engine Marketplace, has removed the third-party listings. However, Epic Games has not yet informed the developers whether the assets were actually stolen.
Direct copies of FromSoftware games in Bleak Faith
The similarities between the assets in Bleak Faith and FromSoftware games were striking. Some observers noted that not only were the weapon designs similar, but the movements of the weapons in the game were identical to those in FromSoftware's games. Bleak Faith developer Archangel Games denied accusations of theft and emphasized that the assets were purchased fairly and legally on the Unreal Engine Marketplace.
Epic Games cannot guarantee the legality of content on the Unreal Engine Marketplace
In a response from Epic Games, they stated that they are not able to independently verify the legality of content on the Unreal Engine Marketplace. Epic Games made it clear that it is up to the sellers to act honestly and fairly and not to upload stolen assets to the Marketplace. Bleak Faith developer Archangel Games avoided responsibility and claimed that everything was legally acquired. However, when the assets were finally removed from the Marketplace, the developers decided to remove the assets from the game as well.
Replacing the assets and patching the game
Archangel Games has announced that they will remove all stolen assets from the game to ensure that no third-party rights are violated. The replacement of the assets is an ongoing process that will be accompanied by several patches to receive feedback from players and fix bugs and balance issues.
Archangel Games emphasized in a statement that the use of stolen assets is unacceptable and it is hoped that other indie developers do not find themselves in similar situations. The exchange of assets is an important part of game development and it is hoped that a verification and review process for the Unreal Engine Marketplace will be introduced to ensure that only verified assets are available to creatives of all shapes and sizes.
