CI Games has responded to a growing number of plagiarism accusations about a character design in the upcoming Lords of the Fallen 2. Many fans have pointed out that it looks very similar to a design from the newly announced Elden Ring Nightreign. After a social media uproar followed the publisher’s release of a promotional image for the highly anticipated Soulslike sequel, the studio clarified the timeline of their creative process. They wanted to address claims that they “stole” FromSoftware’s latest design.
The controversy started when fans noticed major visual similarities between a key figure in the Lords of the Fallen 2 artwork and a character from the Elden Ring Nightreign reveal. Given the popularity of both franchises in the action-RPG genre, these similarities sparked immediate discussion on gaming forums and social media. Critics argued that the design choices—from the armor shape to specific themes—were too close to be coincidental. This led to a defensive response from the Polish publisher.
In reply to the backlash, CI Games presented internal documents to show that their character design came before the public reveal of Nightreign. According to the development team, the artwork was finished well before any details about the Elden Ring expansion or spin-off were shared. Their defense leans on the often-ignored idea of “parallel evolution” in game design. This occurs when different studios in the same dark-fantasy genre reach similar visual outcomes due to shared inspirations.
This incident underscores the intense scrutiny that developers face in the busy “Soulslike” market, where comparisons to FromSoftware’s work are unavoidable. While the visual similarities are clear, CI Games insists that their creative integrity is intact. For now, the studio is focused on developing Lords of the Fallen 2, hoping that the final product will stand out through its own unique mechanics and world-building, rather than being defined by this pre-release issue.
