On September 24, 2024, SHIFT UP, the studio behind Goddess of Victory: NIKKE, released an official statement addressing the recent accusations of plagiarism related to two characters in the game. These characters were found to resemble designs by the Japanese artist Neco, particularly his 2019 work from the FALSLANDER collection.
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Details of the Apology
SHIFT UP acknowledged the similarities between the NPC characters introduced in Goddess of Victory: NIKKE during the 2024 New Year’s event and Neco’s designs. This led to concerns from the artist and his fanbase. In response to these accusations, SHIFT UP issued an apology, stating:
“First of all, our company would like to sincerely apologize for the concern and inconvenience caused to Neco and his fans by receiving these comments.”
Resolution Through Dialogue
After the issue was raised, SHIFT UP initiated discussions with Neco to resolve the matter. As a result of these conversations, SHIFT UP decided to discontinue the use of the NPC character that closely resembled Neco’s work. However, thanks to Neco’s generosity, SHIFT UP obtained permission to continue using the character Guren: Black Shadow, as the design was deemed less similar to Neco’s original creation.
SHIFT UP expressed gratitude towards Neco for his understanding and cooperation, stating:
“We would like to express our deep gratitude to Mr. Neco for his generous consideration and will work hard to prevent this from happening again in the future.”
Background of the Accusations
The controversy began earlier this year when players noticed the resemblance between the characters in Goddess of Victory: NIKKE—particularly the NPC units with black armor and pink hair styled with hair vents—and Neco’s Samurai character from the FALSLANDER collection. Neco himself commented on the issue at the end of 2023, stating:
“It may be a coincidence, but it’s unfortunate that so many things like this are happening.”
Following these remarks, SHIFT UP made immediate adjustments to the character designs during the ongoing event, altering the NPCs’ appearance to differentiate them from Neco’s work.
One of the alleged plagiarized models
Final Statement from Neco
After SHIFT UP issued its apology, Neco publicy addressed the matter one final time, stating that he has no intention of pursuing the issue further and will not tolerate any defamation regarding the case:
“I have no intention of prolonging this issue further, and I will conclude it with this statement.”
He also made it clear that any third-party spreading false information about the incident may face legal action.
This case between SHIFT UP and Neco has been resolved amicably, with both parties reaching a mutual understanding. SHIFT UP has taken steps to modify the controversial character designs while maintaining their use of the Guren: Black Shadow character, thanks to Neco’s approval.
You can read the official apology on Nikke’s X account.
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