There will be frantic scrambling at Microsoft’s Xbox Twitter team today. Strong questions will certainly be asked after the company was accused of plagiarizing concept art on Xbox Twitter. The controversy revolves around concept art for the popular PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG) and Cuphead games.
Reddit user Macsterr created and published an Xbox One concept ad that featured PUBG, which is making its debut on the Xbox One console. The concept seemed to appeal to the folks over at @Xbox Twitter. So much so, they decided to use it without asking permission from Macsterr.
When this appeared on Twitter, most would presume Microsoft has simply sought permission or paid for the image. However, that is not the case and Macsterr voiced his displeasure back on Reddit.
It is worth pointing out that the concept created by Macsterr also featured images from other creators. Although, he received the proper permission to use them. Microsoft seems to have skipped this important step and Xbox Twitter is no being called out for plagiarizing content.
The most interesting aspect is that Microsoft seems to have taken the concept and tweaked it to try and hide it was used. For example, the white console in the original was replaced by a black one, while other elements are changed.
Mistake or Not?
Macsterr’s Reddit post complaining has received 60,000 upvotes, so the issue is gaining traction. Interestingly, the company has since removed the image from Twitter. That rather suggests the company did indeed use the concept image.
The big question is whether the Twitter team plagiarized the content or made a genuine mistake. Perhaps Xbox Twitter found the image and thought it was official? Let us know below what you think about this.
