Escape from Tarkov: AK manufacturer accused of stealing firearm designs

The hardcore shooting game Escape from Tarkov has been launched for four years, and every quarter of the game will continue to attract new players. There are many fantastic weapon designs in Escape from Tarkov, and recently, a small independent studio claimed that Escape from Tarkov used gun designs stolen from their game. But the fact does not seem to be that Battlestate Games, the developer of Escape from Tarkov, stole their gun designs, but an actual gun manufacturer licensed the stolen designs to Escape from Tarkov.

Since 2019, independent game studio Ward B has shared detailed weapon designs for its upcoming game "Ocean". CEO Marcellino Sauceda said that one of the futuristic shotguns called EPM28 Mastodon appeared under MP-155 Ultimate during Escape from Tarkov and in real life.

Marcellino Sauceda said that the two weapons have striking similarities, including color, shape, and aesthetics. The specific elements in the handguard and receiver are copied from mastodons.

According to reports, Maxim Kuzin contacted Ward B, calling himself an "industrial project producer" for several gun manufacturing companies, including the well-known AK series gun manufacturer Kalashnikov Group. He expressed his interest in transforming Mastodon into a real-life gun. Ward B was very excited about this, but the deal eventually fell through. However, on August 21, 2020, Kalashnikov Group released the MP-155 Ultimate but did not contact Ward B. What is even more outrageous is that the group subsequently licensed the gun to Escape from Tarkov.

When Ward B tried to contact Maxim Kuzin, he did not reply. After the tension continued to heat up, Maxim finally stated that he would work with another Russian designer to design this weapon from scratch and authorize the new gun. To Escape from Tarkov.

The Kalashnikov Group has already begun accepting orders for the MP-155 Ultimate, which is priced at US$1,700. Due to American companies' complex actions against Russian companies, Ward B Studio has abandoned legal proceedings. Marcellino Sauceda said that he wants to raise people's copyright awareness.