An artist who goes by @tofu_rabbit on X says that the look of Nerf’s Ace of Spades handgun from Bungie’s Destiny games came from a commissioned artwork they drew almost a decade ago.
Nerf and Bungie unveiled its newest foam dart gun collaboration on Tuesday featuring a limited edition version of Cayde-6’s iconic “Ace of Spades” blaster from Destiny 2 that is available for purchase on Bungie’s online store. The following morning, @tofu_rabbit posted images comparing Nerf’s newest foam dart launcher to a piece of art they made in 2015 and posted on their DeviantArt page based on the same gun from the game.
Addition: Artists image (from link in article):
I’m curious how this is playing out. A fair number of details are present on the game’s item already. The barrel stripe, the upside-down spade with a circular element, and the barrel spade.
https://destiny.fandom.com/wiki/Ace_of_Spades_(Destiny_2)
That’s not to deny the direct copy of this specific design, but rather ask how much can an independent artist claim on what appears to already largely part of what already exists within the game’s IP.
That being said, the reddit thread where the artist posted this originally has an edit stating Bungie reached out, handled it well, and will be sharing details later.
https://www.reddit.com/r/DestinyTheGame/comments/1fe9p6h/soothe_nerf_ace_of_spades_designer_stole_art_i/