There are certain phrases you never really expect to come up over the course of a work day, and boy, “Nexon steals artwork from Blizzard” is high on that list. But it did indeed happen, by all appearances. A promo image from the most recent update to Mabinogi Heroes – known in these parts as Vindictus – featured an unmistakable resemblance to promotional art surrounding Diablo III, in that it was a new piece of art over the exact same backdrop with the saturation turned down slightly.
Actually, that’s being a bit too charitable, since you can even still see the original image in the background; there’s a video comparison of the two down below. It’s not subtle.
To no one’s great surprise, Nexon pulled the image and apologized promptly, although it’s unclear whether Blizzard threatened action or even noticed what was going on. There’s your bizarre story for the day, if you wanted one.
