- Activision has started issuing DMCAs for fan-made recreations of CoD maps
- Several popular creators have already been hit with the copyright strikes
- Players are, naturally, unhappy about Activision’s decision
Fortnite Creative 2.0 has allowed players to recreate cult maps from other games, like CoD: MW2, but Activision does not like that and has started taking these creations down.
Activision Issues DMCAs
One of the selling points of Fortnite is its sandbox meta-game called Fortnite Creative, which allows players to build their maps within an editor of Unreal Engine and share them online through codes. Released in 2018, Fortnite Creator was recently revamped as Fortnite Creative 2.0, also known as Unreal Editor for Fortnite. This made the meta-game even more popular and players have been re-creating maps from other games, like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II.
But this is exactly when a problem arises, as CoD’s owners, Activision, have recently started taking down Call of Duty-themed maps made on Fortnite Creative 2.0. A number of DMCA issued by the company have resulted in some of the most popular maps being taken down.
The issue was brought to light by online creator Jake Lucky, who shared a clip featuring gameplay from these maps made by a user named Mist Jawa. The clip shows faithful recreations of the popular CoD maps Rust and Shipment.
The wave of bans and takedowns is already having an effect on online creators. Mist Jawa said on Twitter that they will no longer be recreating copyrighted maps and that their previously made maps have been deleted. The creator also removed their Tweets and YouTube videos associated with said maps.
How Did Fans React?
It shouldn’t be surprising that Fortnite players and other fans were not happy about Activision’s recent decision. Some pointed out the seeming hypocrisy that levels made in the level editor for Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 have similarly featured recreations of places from other intellectual properties. One prominent such example is the Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 custom Zombies map which recreates Dunder Mifflin from The Office.
“They can’t stand seeing someone make a better version of their game, so instead of improving theirs, they just take down the good ones,” one fan wrote. “They’re mad people would rather play Fortnite CoD and not Activision CoD. This Should be an eye-opener of how bad it’s been,” another did.
Epic had previously warned players about its intellectual property guidelines in Fortnite Creative 2.0. In it says that content creators might face consequences if they do not adhere to the policies.
Making such content as recreating maps from other games is somewhat of a legal gray area. Multiple other games have had similar creation tools, that have resulted in content from other titles being recreated. For example, Halo’s Forge mode or the level editor in Far Cry 5 have been invaluable in helping players create their own experiences and keeping said communities active.
Activision has so far not commented on the situation.
