Uncharted 4 trailer “borrows” Assassin’s Creed artwork

Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End’s story trailer was released today, giving us thrills, drama and action.

But not all was well with the trailer in question. Ubisoft, developers of the Assassin’s Creed franchise, called out Naughty Dog for using Assassin’s Creed concept art without permission.

The concept art was from Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag and appears as an artwork in the Uncharted 4 trailer.

Here is a shot from the trailer showing off the artistic transgression:

For reference, take a look at the original concept from Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag.

But how was this art theft noticed?

Ubisoft’s Aymar Azaizia took note that Naughty Dog had “borrowed” their art.

He revealed his stance in a tweet that was then retweeted by the official Assassin’s Creed account, which you can see below:

Another Ubisoft staff member, Alex Hutchinson, the director of Assassin’s Creed III and Far Cry 4, had something a little more brutal to say.

He called out Jonathan Cooper, a former Ubisoft employee, who now works at Naughty Dog. Cooper had this to say:

Ubisoft themselves declined to officially comment about Uncharted 4‘s story trailer. Naughty Dog, in response, replaced the imagery used within the story trailer with new artwork.

Eventually, Naughty Dog apologised for what happened, saying:

In our eagerness to get the story trailer out we made a regrettable mistake and didn’t thoroughly vet the art work used for an in game painting. We’ve already updated the trailer. We hold all artistry in high regard and take full responsibility for having allowed this to happen.

We want to sincerely apologize to everyone at Ubisoft, the Assassin’s Creed team, the original artist, and our fans.

What are your thoughts on this whole situation? Share your thoughts below.

Source: Kotaku