Artist Claims: ‘Rainbow Six Siege’ Has Used Stolen Assets for Years
Rainbow Six has allegedly contained an asset by Sam Blye, artist and graphic designer. This is alleged to be responsible for the glitchy effect that Operator Mute’s jammers create when Operator Mute is active. Blye said they have not been compensated or acknowledged for their contribution to the tactical shooter. This puts Ubisoft in a difficult position.
Blye discovered last month that The Weather Channel had used the same glitch effect for an informational tornado simulator three years ago. According to Blye, the company had not asked permission for the visual nor paid them for their use of it. The artist then used a reverse-image search on their artwork to determine if it was reused elsewhere. Ubisoft was identified as one of those who stole Blye’s artwork, thanks to a Rainbow Six Siege forum post.
There are many similarities between these images. “It’s still there in the game and apparently many people have seen it countless of times,” said the artist. It was also thought to have been my texture and a few other textures in the animated effect. But closer inspection revealed that the effect is entirely my texture. Ubisoft’s attempt to steal Blye’s glitch artwork is not impressive. This game generates huge revenue, and Ubisoft has not mentioned it for six years.
This is not an isolated incident in the industry. Stellaris: Galaxy Command was a mobile spin-off from the PC game. It used artwork by Kenny Magnusson as a background but forgot to remove “UNSC” or a Warthog. Ubisoft has yet to state the cause of the glitch.
