The First Descendant plans to change icons that almost exactly matched Destiny 2 designs: "We have taken the concerns raised seriously"

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New looter shooter wants to reflect is "unique identity"

The First Descendant
(Image credit: Nexon)

Nexon plans to change in-game icons from looter shooter The First Descendant that were strikingly similar to those found in Destiny 2. 

Take one good look at The First Descendant and you'll be able to see the fingerprints of plenty of different looter shooters etched onto the screen. Among others, Warframe's third-person shooting is clearly a reference point for the newly released live service contender, but the team at Nexon might have taken a little too much inspiration from Destiny 2 in some aspects.

Earlier this week, Forbes reported that The First Descendant seemed to be "using barely-changed" Destiny 2 icons with similarities that are hard to ignore. The tweet below shows how the icons largely use the same basic design, with small changes to color or detail here and there. A 'draw from memory" type of thing. 

The situation began to clear up in the days after, though. Rather than straight up plagiarizing the work of Bungie designers, fans speculated that the icons were taken from a "free and open-source" database called Iconhub that hosts thousands of icons and logos and whatnot, including the Destiny 2 icons in question, alongside designs from Pokemon and Marvel. Everything on the website is supposedly available to use for personal and commercial purposes. Nexon hasn't commented on its approach to designing or redesigning icons, but it is changing the designs regardless.

"The First Descendant, as a looter shooter game, was developed with a deep affection and respect for other games in the genre," Nexon says in a statement to Forbes. "Destiny 2, being a globally renowned looter shooter game, is also personally admired and respected by the team, and it has served as an inspiration during the development process. We have taken the concerns raised seriously and decided to make adjustments to ensure that the imagery that may appear similar clearly reflects the unique identity of our game. We will continue to improve the game for fans of the looter shooter genre."

The First Descendant also came under fire for its wonky microtransactions at launch, which apparently weren’t working properly because too many purchases were made all at once.

Kaan Serin
Freelance contributor

Kaan freelances for various websites including Rock Paper Shotgun, Eurogamer, and this one, Gamesradar. He particularly enjoys writing about spooky indies, throwback RPGs, and anything that's vaguely silly. Also has an English Literature and Film Studies degree that he'll soon forget.