10 Times Video Games STOLE From Fans
When games "borrowed" fan art and forgot to say thanks… or ask.
For years, game developers have leaned on fan communities for support - and occasionally, a little too heavily for inspiration. Whether it's passionate modders, pixel artists, or concept illustrators, fans often create work so good it blurs the line between tribute and professional polish. And sometimes, that line gets crossed altogether.
From placeholder art that was never meant to go live, to full-blown controversies where card games, FPS shooters, or RPGs accidentally (or not) reused fan-made assets, the gaming world has had more than its fair share of plagiarism accusations.
This isn’t just about lazy dev shortcuts or shady backroom deals - it’s about the murky space where fandom and content creation collide. Some companies apologised and corrected course. Others stayed suspiciously silent. A few... just kept the artwork up.
Here are 10 cases where video games got caught using placeholder assets, fan creations, or suspiciously “inspired” artwork - and in some cases, got away with it.
10. Marvel Snap – Pixel Variants That Look a Little Too Familiar
Marvel Snap quickly became a runaway hit in the mobile CCG space, combining Marvel's enormous character roster with snappy mechanics and stylish variant artwork. But in 2023, some of those variants - specifically the pixel art cards - drew unwanted attention.
Fans were quick to notice that certain pixel variants bore an uncanny resemblance to existing fan art. One of the most cited examples involved artist Jason Kiantoro, who created a stylised Black Panther illustration back in 2018. When Snap released a pixel M’Baku card years later, sharp-eyed fans noticed striking similarities in pose, proportions, and costume details.
Similarly, a pixel variant of Sentry was flagged for resembling artwork by popular illustrator InHyuk Lee, known for his Marvel-inspired fanwork.
Second Dinner, the developers of Snap, have not issued an official response, but did acknowledge the reports on Discord, saying the team was “looking into it.” Since then, no cards appear to have been pulled or altered.
Were the similarities coincidental, or a result of over-zealous outsourcing? Nobody's confirmed anything. But the incident raised questions about how variant art is sourced - and whether fans’ creations are being referenced just a little too closely.