Oops! Paladins Strike mistakenly uses Overwatch map for promo [Update]

Paladins is not only available on PC and the consoles Xbox One and PlayStation 4, but also as a mobile version Paladins Strike. Recently, Hi-Rez found itself in a bit of trouble with a current promo image for the mobile game: the background featured an image of an Overwatch map.

Paladins is one of the few hero shooters that has been able to withstand the competition alongside the industry giant Overwatch. The concept of Paladins is no longer limited to PC and consoles, having been adapted for mobile devices with Paladins Strike. It’s unfortunate that the current promo material heavily borrowed from the competition at Blizzard.

With a Hand in the Honey Pot

What happened? Resourceful Reddit users took a closer look at the current promo material for the mobile shooter Paladins Strike by Hi-Rez over the weekend. The image, which was supposed to promote a new skin for the character Lex, featured in the background the Overwatch map Lijang Tower. Not just an artwork similar to the map, but the actual loading screen of the map from Blizzard.

How did Hi-Rez respond? The Art Director of Hi-Rez addressed the challenge directly in the Reddit post. The artwork was created by a partner studio overseas and was not checked by the studio itself. However, they plan to address the issue now.

Will it end with this faux pas? In addition to the artwork with the Overwatch map, a further Reddit post noted that glitches in Paladins Strike revealed menus identical to the menu and loading screens of Heroes of the Storm. The MOBA Heroes of the Storm also comes from the competition at Blizzard.

Paladins is often compared to Overwatch, and Hi-Rez is frequently accused of having borrowed ideas from Blizzard’s hero shooter. However, Hi-Rez playfully demonstrated the opposite when revealing the Overwatch heroine Brigitte.

More on the topic

Paladins CEO complains about Overwatch hero Brigitte, sees similarity

von Benedict Grothaus

Update 23.05.18: Hi-Rez parts ways with the contractor responsible for the promo: After investigating the artwork, they have ended their work with the responsible studio, reported Paladins brand manager Alex Cantatore in an email to the US website Kotaku.

They were very disappointed that the contractors used assets from another game. Since the promo came from a trusted partner studio, it did not undergo a complete internal review cycle at Hi-Rez and was therefore made public immediately.

Cantatore announced that Hi-Rez plans to handle more of its 2D artworks in-house to better maintain control over the published materials.