The new skin for Simon "Ghost" Riley in Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 is close to being the spitting image of the mysterious antagonist Higgs from Death Stranding. Whether the resemblance was intentional or not, the likeness is clear as day, and it would not be the first time Call of Duty has taken inspiration from and paid homage to other hit franchises.
Modern Warfare 2 is currently in the tail end of its Season 2 following the release of Season 2 Reloaded, with Season 3 due sometime in the middle of April. While fans have reacted positively to the long-awaited introduction of Ranked Play and the Himmelmatt Expo map, the game remains no stranger to criticism and controversy. The new marksman rifle, the Tempus Torrent, is facing accusations of being overpowered, while bugs and other areas of imbalance remain prevalent.
Included in the new Bone Chiller Tracer Pack, available in the in-game store for Modern Warfare 2, is a skin for Ghost which looks an awful lot like Higgs from Death Stranding. The gilded skull half-mask with a black hood and attire all match the garb of the porter-turned-terrorist. While there are subtle distinctions between the two, most obvious of which are the sunglasses that Ghost is sporting with the skin, the likeness is too close to ignore. Call of Duty has faced accusations in the past of stealing art assets for its skins, but optimistic fans believe this to be more of an unlicensed tribute than creative theft. Whatever the truth may be, it is worth noting that the default skin for Ghost features a skull mask, making the tracer pack skin more of a recolor than anything else, and the gilded skull is also vaguely akin to the one designed for Army of Two, which precedes both titles by over a decade.
For those who believe Activision had the deliberate intention to steal the look of Higgs for its own game, there is a precedence for being skeptical of the company. There have been several stories in the past of Call of Duty devs taking a level of inspiration from existing assets that border on plagiarism. The most recent was the accusation from stream and studio head Dr. Disrespect, that Call of Duty had stolen the likeness of one of the Variant skins from his upcoming game, DEADROP. That news came off the heels of Activision axing a Samoyed skin for Call of Duty and apologizing for stealing the design from an unaffiliated artist.
While unlicensed homages are fairly common in gaming, from Hitman's take on Kill Bill to Skyrim's bleak alternate ending to Empire Strikes Back, this new skin for Modern Warfare 2 certainly raises some eyebrows. Since the skin is currently available for purchase and there are no signs that Kojima Productions will pursue legal action, it is left to the court of public opinion to decide if this is a tasteful tribute or a blatant ripoff.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is available on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
