{"id":64179,"date":"2026-03-27T14:10:02","date_gmt":"2026-03-27T05:10:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/?p=64179"},"modified":"2026-03-27T14:10:09","modified_gmt":"2026-03-27T05:10:09","slug":"bloodrayne-re-release-receives-backlash-for-plagiarism-of-ninja-gaiden-2-design-in-collectors-edition-artbook-publisher-addresses-issue","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/bloodrayne-re-release-receives-backlash-for-plagiarism-of-ninja-gaiden-2-design-in-collectors-edition-artbook-publisher-addresses-issue\/","title":{"rendered":"BloodRayne re-release receives backlash for\u00a0plagiarism of Ninja Gaiden 2 design in collector\u2019s edition artbook, publisher\u00a0addresses issue\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>On March 26, Ziggurat Interactive and Strictly Limited Games\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/RealStrictlyLTD\/status\/2037213099833339945?s=20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">announced<\/a>\u00a0<strong>BloodRayne: Definitive Collection\u00a0<\/strong>for PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch, which includes BloodRayne: Terminal Cut, BloodRayne 2: Terminal Cut, and BloodRayne: Betrayal &#8211; Fresh Bites.\u00a0In addition to the\u00a0Limited Edition (the standard version), which includes all three\u00a0remastered and expanded\u00a0games,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.strictlylimitedgames.com\/products\/bloodrayne-definitive-collection-deluxe-edition-nintendo-switch\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">the Deluxe\u00a0Edition<\/a>\u00a0comes with\u00a0an\u00a0artbook containing character and environment concept, among other merch.\u00a0Many were\u00a0quick to point out\u00a0that the illustration of Rayne featured on the artbook\u2019s cover mockup\u00a0looked eerily familiar to an official image of\u00a0Irene Lew\/Sonia\u00a0from Team Ninja\u2019s Ninja Gaiden II.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Why is&#8230;.Sonia of Ninja Gaiden 2 on the cover of the BloodRayne artbook? <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/U4WSR6uknZ\">pic.twitter.com\/U4WSR6uknZ<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Raeng(\u66f9\u8d6b) (@RoytaMustDie) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/RoytaMustDie\/status\/2037217431756636529?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">March 26, 2026<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Given the number of fan reports to Koei Tecmo, it\u00a0didn\u2019t\u00a0take long for the official Team Ninja X account to\u00a0chime in\u00a0with a simple \u201cWayment&#8230;\u201d (wait a minute).\u00a0Indeed,\u00a0when placed side by side, the BloodRayne artbook image looks\u00a0almost exactly\u00a0like Irene Lew\u2019s concept art,\u00a0except for the\u00a0recolored\u00a0hair\u00a0and the swapping of Irene\u2019s rocket launcher and machine gun for dual blades.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Wayment&#8230;<\/p>&mdash; Team NINJA (@TeamNINJAStudio) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/TeamNINJAStudio\/status\/2037253908813299942?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">March 26, 2026<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>In response, Ziggurat Interactive\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/playziggurat\/status\/2037298256380678428?s=20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">stated<\/a>\u00a0that the\u00a0mockup\u00a0cover of the artbook shown in the promotional image was\u00a0an\u00a0image taken from a BloodRayne: Betrayal design document, meant for internal use.\u00a0They acknowledge that the artwork was \u201cheavily derivative of\u00a0another\u00a0artist\u2019s work,\u201d\u00a0which they had not been aware of until now.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Given that the original Betrayal&nbsp;was&nbsp;released in 2011, three years after Ninja Gaiden II,&nbsp;it seems highly possible&nbsp;that an artist at&nbsp;WayForward&nbsp;(Betrayal\u2019s original development studio) used Irene\u2019s concept art as a basis for creating Rayne\u2019s design&nbsp;in their game.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Nevertheless, Ziggurat Interactive announced that they will be replacing the&nbsp;artbook\u2019s&nbsp;mockup cover image and will be checking the artbook for any&nbsp;other&nbsp;potentially&nbsp;problematic images&nbsp;before&nbsp;finalizing&nbsp;production.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>BloodRayne: Definitive Collection is set to release on July 29 for PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Related:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/sony-has-developed-an-ai-tool-that-protects-creators-copyrights-by-prohibiting-ghibli-style-outputs-and-providing-compensation\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Sony has developed an AI tool that protects creators\u2019 copyrights by prohibiting \u201cGhibli-style\u201d outputs and providing compensation\u00a0<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/resident-evils-umbrella-corporation-files-fictional-copyright-infringement-lawsuit-against-ramen-maker-nissin\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Resident Evil\u2019s Umbrella Corporation files fictional copyright infringement lawsuit against ramen maker Nissin<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The artbook&#8217;s cover mockup features artwork of Rayne that closely resembles official concept art of Ninja Gaiden&#8217;s Sonia.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":67,"featured_media":64182,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_gspb_post_css":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-64179","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"blocksy_meta":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>BloodRayne re-release receives backlash for\u00a0plagiarism of Ninja Gaiden 2 design in collector\u2019s edition artbook, publisher\u00a0addresses issue\u00a0 - AUTOMATON WEST<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The cover of an artbook belonging to BloodRayne: Definitive Collection&#039;s Deluxe bundle has caused plagiarism accusations.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link 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