Fortnite accused of plagiarising Overwatch’s Hammond

Fortnite remains at the very top of the gaming industry's cosmetic game. Epic Games' masterwork has proven cosmetics can carry a game to success in a way the world has never seen before. Where else can you see Leon Kennedy go against Mr Beast and it makes perfect sense?

All the while, other titles try to keep up. But, with complaints of bizarre Halloween crossovers from Warzone and money-grubbing claims from Overwatch 2's overpriced skins, it's clear that not everyone is getting it right. Now, even Fortnite seems to be getting it wrong a little too.

Fortnite accused of plagiarising from Overwatch

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Epic Games

In February, Fortnite caught some heat after it released a new spray into the game. There are a lot of these, and given that they're not exactly the prime cosmetic on offer, it was largely ignored.

That was until someone pointed out something that players simply couldn't look away from. The Hamster Cabbie spray featured a hamster with the word "taxi" underneath it. Players pointed out how it looked similar to one based on Wrecking Ball in the Overwatch games, who is dubbed Hammond by loving players.

It looks like a potential rip that would be pretty bad, even by Fortnite's standards - remember the Carlton accusations? Even though Epic has opted to change the spray in the face of these claims, it's not much better.

Fortnite changes Hamster Cabbie spray - but it still looks like Hammond

As shared by Overwatch Cavalry on Twitter, the Hamster Cabbie spray has now been altered but still looks like Hammond. Now, the game has given the hamster a mohawk that looks very similar to that of the Overwatch Wrecking Ball skin called Junker.

One critic said, "They made subtle changes to the outline shape of the character so it can't technically be called "traced" anymore. Should have just completely remade the entire spray in a diff style imo, feels cheap the way they 'fixed' it."

Another added, "What a lazy upgrade honestly, the spray still literally looks like hammond.....," while a third concluded, "It's literally the pose. The ned to change the f****n' pose. Why did they think this would work lol."

It's incredibly unfortunate that the rework still reflects Hammond, but it's what Epic Games gets for creating something so incredibly similar to something that already exists.