Lords of the Fallen 2 devs deny copying Elden Ring: Nightreign’s Wylder

The developers behind Lords of the Fallen 2 have been under heavy fire from fans of Elden Ring, as CI Games has been accused of blatantly plagiarizing enemy designs from From Software’s spin-off title, Elden Ring: Nightreign.

This came after the studio shared concept art of a new enemy soldier. However, the CEO of CI Games, Marek Tyminski, has been vocal in opposing the scrutiny and has presented concrete evidence that the design was conceived in 2024, nearly a year before Elden Ring: Nightreign was released.

The controversy erupted when CI Games posted artwork of a new enemy variant, devoted to the moon goddess Menaslide. He was showcased wearing blue armor, cloth accents, and a serrated greatsword.

Fans quickly compared the artwork to a character recently announced for Elden Ring’s Nightreign expansion, called Wylder. Some said the artwork resembled Artorias from Dark Souls’ DLC, and the similar visual elements, such as the blue armor and the knight-like stance, rationalized this.

However, the main crux of this comparison is Wylder from Nightreign, who also sports a similar design and even features an optional Artorias-inspired skin in Elden Ring: Nightreign. Fans and gamers online called the comparison too close for comfort.

Seeing the commotion, Tyminski directly addressed the backlash and even shared a screenshot from an internal Slack conversation from July 2024 to further support his claims.

He stated, “Pleased to prove that yesterday’s accusations of plagiarism are 100% false.” The chat log in question showed an artist publishing a render of what was previously called “HallowedBro,” which later evolved into the Menaslide Soldier, who was given the spotlight earlier this week.

He detailed that the armor design was finalized by July 14, 2024, nearly four months before Elden Ring Nightrein was officially announced. To further cement his stance, he stated that the Menaslide Soldier’s character model was imported into Lords of the Fallen 2 by October 23, 2024. Tyminski simply said, “The timeline is clear.”

Tyminski, after clearing the air, said:

Visual overlap can occur in medieval fantasy design. We respect FromSoftware, but we do not copy other studios. The armor design in Lords of the Fallen was widely praised, and we’re confident Lords 2 will be no different. We stand fully behind our artists, their originality, and the integrity of their work.

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