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Indie studio alleges Apex Legends' new character copies one of their own

NOWWA claims the newest Apex Legend, Fuse, is just a little too close to one of the characters from its upcoming game, BulletVille.

TJ Denzer

January 22, 2021 7:10 AM

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In the world of video games, there are all sorts of designs and archetypes. There are even loving nods, but when is a reference too close? Indie studio NOWWA is claiming that Apex Legends developer Respawn Entertainment may have crossed the line with its latest character. Fuse is set to arrive in Season 8 of the free-to-play battle royale, and NOWWA has issue with the character for its striking similarities to one of the studio’s own characters in its upcoming game, BulletVille.

Apex Legends Season 8 and its new character Fuse got a big reveal recently as the new content gets set to drop some mayhem in February. However, upon the full reveal of Fuse, NOWWA took the opportunity to field a complaint in correspondence with Nintendo Life, claiming their own character from BulletVille - Hunter - would be called a “ripoff” for being so close in design. The studio even shared a screen of the characters put side-by-side.

"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!,” a spokesperson for NOWWA claimed. “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.”

NOWWA goes on to claim that some of the functions between the two characters add to their complaint. In BulletVille, Hunter’s can wield a pistol and rocket launcher. Interestingly enough, Fuse’s Ultimate also just happens to be a rocket launcher.

Is it a coincidence? Possibly, but the fact that there are multiple parallels between Fuse and Hunter certainly draw some concern. Respawn, nor EA, have commented on the matter. Stay tuned for updates and new information as we follow this story.

TJ Denzer

Senior News Editor

TJ Denzer is a player and writer with a passion for games that has dominated a lifetime. He found his way to the Shacknews roster in late 2019 and has worked his way to Senior News Editor since. Between news coverage, he also aides notably in livestream projects like the indie game-focused Indie-licious, the Shacknews Stimulus Games, and the Shacknews Dump. You can reach him at tj.denzer@shacknews.com and also find him on Twitter @JohnnyChugs.