Kalashnikov, the maker of the popular AK-47, has been accused of stealing a weapon design from a video game. However, the Russian company has denied the allegations.
In an interview, the CEO of Ward B, Marcellino Sauceda, admitted that he had been contacted by a Kalashnikov contractor named Maxim Kuzin in early 2020. According to Sauceda, Kuzin asked permission to use the Mastodon shotgun design from the Oceanic game into the original weapon design.
In return, Ward B was promised full credit for the design, the company logo on the shotgun, and the original three guns. In other words, Ward B was promised full publicity for the weapon.
But then Kalashnikov did not continue the conversation, and Ward B assumed that they were not interested in continuing the project.
But on August 21, 2020, Kalashnikov released a weapon called the MP-155 Ultima, which was claimed to be based on their existing MP-155 shotgun.
In the new weapon, the Kalashnikov uses an aluminum and polymer chassis, and has an integrated computer that shows the number of bullets remaining, a compass, stopwatch, and timer. This weapon can also be connected to WiFi and can be attached to a camera, which makes it really like a weapon in the game.
Then the shape is quite similar to Mastodon, and even Kalashnikov is not shy about revealing that the MP-155 Ultima is indeed inspired by video games.
Sauceda was furious, he said some aspects of the MP-155 Ultima made it look like a clone of Mastodon. Such as hand guards, receivers, and many other things that make it very similar to Mastodon.
Kuzin has a defense on this matter. According to him, the agreement between Kalashnikov and Ward B could not be carried out because Ward B lacked funds to complete the Oceanic game, and the release date was not clear.
According to him, it would be too risky if they continued to work with Ward B. He even mentioned that the artist who made the Mastodon design was not paid by Ward B, so there is no clear ownership of the Mastodon design. According to Ward B, the artist who designed Mastodon has now been paid, although the payment was delayed.
But what really annoyed Sauceda was that Kalashnikov then licensed Ultima's design for another game, namely Escape From Tarkov.