Developer ofBleak Faith: Forsaken, Archangel Studios, has responded to accusations of stealing assets fromElden Ring. TheSoulslikegame was only released a few days ago, and the negative attention is something the developer won’t want clouding its launch.The Soulslike genre has exploded in recent years, with titles likeStar Wars Jedi: Fallen Orderhelping to bring the genre into the mainstream. Theenormous sales ofElden Ringcemented the idea that Soulslikes can be popular with wider audiences, with the difficulty of the game not putting players off. It only seems poised to grow going forward, with gamer appetite for a difficult action-RPG experience still very much alive and well.RELATED:Soulslike Remnant 2 Reveals New Gunslinger ClassThe comparison was initially pointed out byDark Soulsmodder Meowmaritus, who created the tools that allow gamers to rip animations out of FromSoftware titles. The footage shows combat animations with motion exactly the same as what can be seen inElden Ring. Interestingly, the animations are playing at a different speed between the games, but they’re clearly the same core animations. Meowmaritus even notes that otherSoulslikes such asLies of Ptake heavy inspiration using FromSoftware games' animations, but doesn’t outright steal them.
In Archangel Studios' response to the allegations, the developer is transparent about the use of purchased assets from the Unreal Engine Marketplace for “animations that are good and fit our theme.” The developer also clarifies that purchasing assets is common practice in the industry, even at FromSoftware. It seems that the usage ofElden Ringassets is an innocent error, with the asset pack managing to slip by Epic Games. However, the increased attention on the pack could now it see removed. WhileElden Ring’s animationsare quite distinctive, it’s entirely possible that their familiarity slipped by the developer during the development process. It will be interesting to see what happens now to the asset packs, if it’s definitively proven that they’re stolen from FromSoftware.
As part of the response, Archangel Studios floated its own theory about the asset pack. It claims that if two animations are similar, but are used on two completely separate rigs and skeletons, then it’s more likely that the animations are rotoscoped rather than stolen. This would mean that while theElden Ringanimations were used as a base to draw from, they would technically have been handmade by the creator of the asset pack, and therefore not stolen at all. However, it’s still unclear which category this particular pack falls into.
Excitement had been building around the game for a while, withBleak Faith: Forsaken’s release date trailerreleasing just weeks ago. While this is a mistake beyond the developer’s control, it does appear that the game is usingElden Ringanimations without permission from FromSoftware. There’s no easy solution to the issue. The game is already out on PC, so it’s not a case of delaying the game until the animations can be redone. It remains to be seen if FromSoftware decides to respond to the allegations in the coming days.
Bleak Faith: Forsakenis available now on PC, with PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S versions currently in development.
