Independent studio Ward B has accused the Kalashnikov Concern, creator of the AK47, of copying their weapon design from one of their games to create a real shotgun. The Oceanic game is currently in development in Ward B and the weapon in the game is called the EPM28 Mastodon Shotgun.
According to an initial report from IGN, in early 2020, Ward B CEO Marcelino Soceda was approached by a Kalashnikov concern contractor and asked for permission to turn the EPM28 Mastodon Shotgun into a real shotgun. Obviously this was a feat for the studio, but Soseda didn’t actually give permission to the Kalashnikov Concern, but that doesn’t seem to have completely changed their plans. Shortly thereafter, Kalashnikov introduced a new set of weapons that closely resembled the EMP28 Mastodon shotgun.
Kalashnikov was accused of copying the design of real weapons from Oceanic
Oceanic is a first-person action game currently in development at Ward B, and the studio has been sharing incredibly detailed renders of its weapons for some time now. Kalashnikov’s new weapon kit, the MP-155 Ultima, appears to be very similar to the EPM28 Oceanic shotgun. To add fuel to the fire, Kalashnikov actually commented on the video game-inspired design of the MP-155 Ultima on Facebook.
Ward B initially sued Kalashnikov, but ultimately dropped the case to focus on Oceanic development. Curiously, just months after Ward B accused Kalashnikov of copying their design, a Russian manufacturing concern appears to have licensed the MP-155 for use in Escape from Tarkov.
MP-155 Ultima from Kalashnikov Group
IGN also contacted Maxim Kuzin, a contractor who approached Ward B’s Marcellino Soceda, who responded by saying the company was “too risky to work with”. Along with this, he also denied ownership of Ward B.’s concept art during their conversation, stating that the concept artist was not paid at the time.