Since its release, Rainbow Six: Siege has allegedly included an asset from artist and graphic designer Sam Blye used for the glitchy effect players see when Operator Mute's jammers are active. Blye stated that they haven't received any acknowledgement or compensation for the use of their work in the popular tactical shooter, which puts Ubisoft in a problematic position.
Last month, Blye was aware that The Weather Channel had pilfered their same glitch effect three years ago for an informational tornado simulation. The company hadn't asked for permission to use the visual nor had it paid them for the use of the asset, according to Blye, and so the artist used a reverse image search on their artwork to see if it had been recycled elsewhere. Thanks to a post on the Rainbow Six Siege subreddit from 2017, Ubisoft was collared as one of the culprits who had nicked Blye's artwork without permissions or compensation.
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This video of the effect that Operator Mute's jammers cause when a player moves into their radius is apparently Blye's own artwork, albeit marginally modified. Check it out:
There's no two ways about it - anyone could see that there are a lot of similarities between the two images. "It’s still in the game and apparently many players have seen it countless times," continued the artist. "Also previously was thinking it might’ve been my texture & a couple other textures in the animated effect, but on closer inspection, the effect is just entirely my texture." This is not a spectacular look for Ubisoft if it has pinched Blye's glitch artwork (for a game that generates a massive amount of revenue, mind) without mentioning it to them for six years on the trot.
Unfortunately, this isn't an isolated incident in the industry. Stellaris: Galaxy Command, the mobile spin-off of the acclaimed PC game, used artwork from Halo artist Kenny Magnusson as a background and forgot to scrub out "UNSC" and an actual Warthog. At the moment, Ubisoft has not issued a statement on the source of the glitch effect.
Featured Image Credit: UbisoftTopics: Ubisoft, Rainbow Six Siege