Shift Up apologizes for plagiarism accusations, revises Goddess of Victory: Nikke character designs 

Shift Up, the Korean developer and publisher behind games such as Stellar Blade and Goddess of Victory: Nikke, issued a public apology to Japanese artist neco for using characters that were similar to the latter’s designs. Apart from two unnamed melee Nikke NPCs, a variant of the character Scarlet called “Scarlet: Black Shadow” shared similar designs to neco’s Samurai illustration from their FALSLANDER series.  

Apart from the red and black color scheme, all three characters wear skintight outfits with high heels. The melee Nikke NPCs share the same hairstyle as neco’s Samurai, down to the red string overlapping the front portion of their heads. While Scarlet: Black Shadow sports longer hair, her blade and sheathe are held similarly to how Samurai holds her dual blades. For reference, neco’s Samurai debuted in 2019, 3 years before Goddess of Victory: Nikke released on Android, iOS, and iPadOS on November 4, 2022.  

According to an announcement by Shift Up, the developer has discussed the matter with neco, and the two parties concluded that Shift Up would discontinue using the unnamed melee Nikke NPC design in the game (it has since been replaced by a different model). However, Scarlet: Black Shadow will remain in the game as neco has given their consent, most likely due to the character being playable. Shift Up also mentioned that it would “endeavor to prevent this from happening again in the future.” 

Post translation: The other party has responded to this matter and apologized as detailed below. I have no intention of dragging this matter out any further, so I will end it with this report. We will not be answering any questions regarding this matter from now on, and we ask for your understanding and patience. Furthermore, if any third parties make slander or libel against us regarding this matter, we will consider taking legal action. 

Neco has since responded to Shift Up’s apology, stating that they don’t want to drag the matter out any further and would like to end it with the above statement. Any further inquiries about the matter won’t be entertained, and any slander or libel against either them (neco) or Shift Up can be met with legal action. Neco first pointed out the similarities between Samurai and the Goddess of Victory: Nikke characters in December 2023, so it must be a weight off their shoulders to have this issue finally resolved.