A popular new furry Operator in Call of Duty Warzone has become the subject of plagiarism claims.

The new playable character, due to launch alongside the upcoming Terminator bundle, allows you to buy and play as a “Loyal Samoyed” – a soldier with the head of a very, very good boy. You can see the design below in a promotional image from developer Raven Software.

However, concept artist Sail Lin claims that the design has been plagiarised from a piece they created over two years ago:

“I am the original artist that the upcoming CoD Vanguard Samoyed skin was plagiarized from,” they said on Twitter (below). “Even though I am also a CoD player, I am very disappointed to see my work plagiarized by a big company like Activision in this way.”

“I have reached out to Activision for an explanation and/or compensation, and hopefully the situation will be settled soon,” they explained. “As an individual artist, I can only do so much, and I have to speak out about this to stop things like this happening again in the future.”

I have to explain this matter, COD Vanguard Samoye skin plagiarism.https://t.co/ltHTSNhEtf #CallofDutyVanguard #COD #Vanguard @Activision pic.twitter.com/OD2M4WNUms

— saillin (@saillin5) July 29, 2022

The artist uploaded their original design (called 'Samoye Medical') to online portfolio website ArtStation in December 2019, so there’s little arguing that their work preceded the upcoming CoD skin.

Even more interestingly, following these accusations, Raven Software has since removed mention of the “Loyal Samoyed” skin from its website. As noted by Polygon, a blog post announcing the skin has since been updated to remove images and mentions of the design. Additionally, tweets promoting the skin have also been removed.

We've contacted Activision Blizzard for comment.

Sail Lin is a concept artist from Shenzen, China, whose portfolio includes a whole catalog of gun designs alongside a range of cute puppers on combat gear.

Whether or not Lin will be contacted by Activision or Raven Software remains to be seen. But it looks as though this take on man’s best friend won’t be heading to the Warzone – at least, not for the time being.

Activision Blizzard has previously been sued for an Operator's likeness, after photographer Clayton Haugen alleged that the game's Mara character was based on images he'd taken of a cosplayer. That case was later settled.

Ryan Leston is an entertainment journalist and film critic for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.

There are plenty of incredible deals to check out at the moment, including Demon's Souls with is down to just £19.99 at Currys right now. This was also on sale at Amazon but unfortunately sold out very quickly. But, if you don't mind a quick trip to your local Currys, this is a great deal.

Other deals today include discounts on the absolute best items to get you summer-ready, including over £300 off a hut tub, a brand new barbeque, and plenty more exciting gear. There's also loads of brilliant tech deals to check out right now, including an Anker 4-way Extension Lead for just £11.99, Tile Mate Item Trackers for just £13.99, or Battlefield 2042 for less than £10 on PS5.

Demon's Souls for £19.99 on PS5 (was £69.99)

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Robert Anderson is a deals expert and Commerce Editor for IGN. You can follow him @robertliam21 on Twitter.

Rocky star Sylvester Stallone is extremely upset about the new Rocky and Creed spin-off, has dubbed the franchise's owners 'parasites', and called out Dolph Lundgren for not telling him about plans for the movie in advance.

After hearing about Drago – the upcoming film starring Dolph Lundgren and Florian Munteanu, Stallone unleashed a damning rant via Instagram:

“Heartbreaker… Just found this out… ONCE AGAIN, IRWIN WINKLER , this PATHETIC 94 year old PRODUCER and HIS MORONIC VULTURE CHILDREN, Charles And David , are once again picking clean THE BONES of another wonderful character I created without even telling me,” he said. “I APOLOGIZE to the FANS , I never wanted ROCKY characters to be exploited by these parasites… By the way, I once had nothing but respect for Dolph but he NEVER told me about what was going on behind my back with the character I created for him !!! REAL FRIENDS Are more precious than gold.”

Stallone is clearly unimpressed by the news of Creed’s upcoming spin-off – a film that will focus on the Russian father and son boxing duo, Ivan and Viktor Drago. Irwin Winkler is one of the producers of the Rocky franchise, and who has presumably been a part of getting this spin-off off the ground.

“WINKLER And FAMILY SUCK ROCKY DRY!” he added in a separate post, depicting Winkler as a vampire draining blood from Rocky Balboa. “Presumed to be the most hated , untalented , decrepited [sic], producer in Hollywood and his cowardly children have found their next meal… Drago ? Throughout history so many artists in every industry, recording, painting, writing, you name it have been destroyed by these blood suckers who have destroyed so many families, lining their pockets with other people work. #parasite producers #exploited artists victims.”

Stallone has been very vocal about his displeasure with the current state of the Rocky franchise. Only last month, he called on social media to help him regain the rights to the series he created. Stallone has already pulled out of appearing in Creed 3.

After Lundgren’s appearance in Creed 2, it’s no surprise to see him back in the franchise proper. He had also been teasing a Drago spin-off for some time, so it shouldn’t really come as that much of a surprise to Stallone… at least, if he’d been paying attention.

However, it looks as though Lundgren and Stallone may have already smoothed things over:

“Just to set the record straight regarding a possible Drago spinoff,” said Lundgren via Instagram. “There’s no approved script, no deals in place, no director and I was personally under the impression that my friend Sly Stallone was involved as a producer or even as an actor. There was a press leak last week which was unfortunate. In touch with Mr Balboa – just so all the fans can relax…There ya go.”

Creed 2 starred Michael B. Jordan as Adonis Creed, with Sylvester Stallone returning as the former Heavyweight champion turned coach, Rocky Balboa.

The sequel saw Adonis takes on the son of Ivan Drago – the former Russian champion, Rocky’s nemesis, and the man who ultimately killed Adonis’ father with a knockout blow during an exhibition match in Rocky 4. Florian Munteanu starred as Viktor Drago and is expected to return in the upcoming Creed 3.

Creed 3 has already been pushed back from its November release date and is now expected to debut in March next year.

Ryan Leston is an entertainment journalist and film critic for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.

Tony Hawk has once again proved why he is just a wonderful human being as he recently jumped on stage with a Tony Hawk cover band called The 900 in the UK to sing a couple of songs for a very surprised crowd.

Hawk took to Twitter to share a video of him and The 900 singing Agent Orange's Bloodstains, which appeared in Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4, at Signature Brew Haggerston. Hawk also said that Bloodstains was a huge inspiration for him in helping shape the soundtracks for his games.

My / our rendition of Agent Orange’s Bloodstains from last night’s show at @SignatureBrewE8. This was one of the first punk songs I heard as a kid and it was a catalyst for shaping the soundtracks to THPS games. Thanks to @The900Banduk for summoning me to the stage! ➡️⬇️⭕️ pic.twitter.com/wR49DWUx0z

— Tony Hawk (@tonyhawk) July 31, 2022

"My / our rendition of Agent Orange's Bloodstains from last night's show at @SignatureBrewE8," Hawk wrote. "This was one of the first punk songs I heard as a kid and it was a catalyst for shaping the soundtracks to THPS games. Thanks to @The900Banduk for summoning me to the stage!"

Hawk and The 900 also sang Goldfinger's Superman, which appeared in in the original Tony Hawk's Pro Skater and again in both Tony Hawk's Pro Skater HD and Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2.

So I went to see a Tony Hawk cover band in a small bar in East London and @tonyhawk showed up and sang some songs. WHAT THE ACTUAL HELL. @SignatureBrewE8 pic.twitter.com/xxPSQro2Pt

— Isabel Davies (@IsabelDavies_) July 30, 2022

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2 is the latest entry in the long-running and beloved skateboarding franchise and, in our review, we said that it "is such a tremendous turnaround from 2015’s disastrously dismal Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 5 that it’s difficult to believe they share even a shred of DNA. The accessible yet tricky skating is earnest and old-school fun, the wonderful looking levels are lovingly designed odes to the past, and the music is like the hearty embrace of an old childhood buddy."

For more on Tony Hawk, check out our look at how Tony Hawk's Pro Skater made games cool for '90s kids, the making of THPS' soundtrack, and our interview of Tony Hawk him about going from a skateboarding superstar to a video game icon.

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Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

Pat Carroll, the Emmy and Grammy Award-winning voice behind The Little Mermaid's Ursula and an entertainer whose career lasted over 70 years, has died at the age of 95.

As reported by Variety, Carroll's death was confirmed by her representative, Derek Maki, and he shared that Carroll "died with her best friend by her side" in Cape Cod, Massachusetts while recovering from pneumonia.

Carroll was born on May 5, 1927, in Shreveport, Louisiana, and her family moved to Los Angeles when she was five. Before becoming an actor and securing her first role in 1947 in the film Hometown Girl, she enlisted in the U.S. Army during World War II.

After Hometown Girl, she would appear on many variety shows and would win an Emmy Award in 1956 for her work on Sid Caesar's House. She could also be seen in Make Room for Daddy, The Jimmy Durante Show, The Danny Thomas Show, Too Close for Comfort, and She's the Sherriff.

Carroll also popped up on some of the most iconic TV shows of all time, including The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Laverene & Shirley, The Love Boat, Designing Women, and ER alongside a handful of game shows.

She would win a Grammy in 1980 for best spoken word (documentary or drama) for her performance as Gertrude Stein in her one-woman theater show.

1989's The Little Mermaid would prove to be one of her best roles and she helped make Ursula one of the most beloved villains in Disney's long history. Carroll would continue to lend her voice to Ursula in the following years, including for video games like Kingdom Hearts, Disney theme park attractions, and the 1993 Little Mermaid CBS series.

Carroll is survived by her daughters, Kerry Karsian and Tara Karasian, and her granddaughter, Evan Karsian-McCormick.

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Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.