Indie Game Studio NOWWA Claims Apex Legends Stole Their Character
- EA has allegedly copied NOWWA when creating their latest Apex Legends character Fuse.
- The developers of BulletVille claim that they playtested with EA staff in October and November 2020.
- EA and Respawn are yet to respond to the claims by NOWWA.
EA and Respawn Entertainment recently revealed Apex Legends’ latest character, Fuse. The new character will go live in-game on February 2 along with the game’s latest season. However, indie game studio NOWWA claims that the new Apex Legends character was stolen from BulletVille. The indie studio claims that Hunter, their game’s main hero, was copied by EA.
NOWWA’s Accusations Against EA
NOWWA states that Hunter’s character design has been available for nearly two years while Fuse was just revealed to the worldwide audience by EA. There are a lot of similarities between both characters. NOWWA claims that they playtested with the EA team in October and November 2020.
AFK Gaming could not independently verify this claim. We have reached out to EA and are yet to receive an official response at the time of writing. We will update this report if and when the Apex Legends studio offers a response.
The other similarities between Hunter and Apex’s latest character include their choice of weaponry – a rocket launcher. NOWWA stated, “We are happy that the Apex Legends team liked Hunter’s style to the point of wanting to recreate it in Apex Legends - we were even hoping for an eventual crossover! Nonetheless, we are afraid that, as a small indie game producer whose game hasn’t been launched yet, we’ll be called a ripoff of Apex Legends, which is certainly not true.”
There are similarities between both characters, but the claims of NOWWA working with EA are yet to be verified. Apex Legends is set to receive a new season and Fuse early next month.
Apex Legends’ History of Controversies
This is not the first time Apex Legends has found itself in controversy. A class-action lawsuit was filed against EA last year, and the company was forced to take down lootboxes in numerous regions. The boxes have been replaced with currency in the season pass, and some countries can only purchase skins.
The pricing of their microtransactions has also been a hot topic, with Legend Heirlooms being random drops that require up to 500 lootbox openings and guaranteed Heirloom drops that cost approximately $180 from events. It remains to be seen if EA and Respawn Entertainment respond to the claims by NOWWA or if the indie dev studio files a lawsuit against the Apex Legends studio.
Follow us on social media
