Last of Us Developers Accused of Stealing Artwork

Naughty Dog fell into some hot water earlier today when an artist accused the team of using his work in their latest game without his permission. The game in question is the award winning "The Last of Us," a title that has so far garnered near universal praise from fans and reviewers.

Cameron Booth took to Tumblr this afternoon to vent his frustration with the game studio. Booth is an artist who works on rail maps, and he recently noticed that the Boston MBTA T map he created had appeared in The Last of Us without his permission. 

You can see the map in question and its in-game appearance below.

"For a software developer - especially a big developer working on a blockbuster title like this - to casually appropriate someone else's work and incorporate it into their game without any discussion with the owner of that work is completely unacceptable," Booth said in a Tumblr post.

"Naughty Dog seems to have known that they couldn't use the official map without paying a hefty license fee, so it looks like they just went on the internet and found another one. Cos, you know, images on the internet are free for anyone to use, right? Not," he added.

He fairly concludes that "if you want to use my work commercially, payment before usage is required. If you're making money from your product, then you can pay me for my work as well."

Luckily, it seems Naughty Dog got in touch with Booth before the issue got too far out of hand. In an update, Booth explains that the studio gave him a call, and that they've reached an undisclosed agreement.

"I've just spoken with Naughty Dog over the phone in a very constructive conversation," he wrote. "Can't say more at the moment, but it seems as if matters will be resolved to everyone's satisfaction shortly. I can say that they do acknowledge their error in using my map and were very apologetic for it. I likewise apologised for my initial vitriolic post. A lot of mutual respect for each other's creative work."

He has since removed the "vitriolic post" from his Tumblr blog.

That's good news for all parties involved. I would assume Booth will be fairly compensated, leaving The Last of Us back on track to be a heavy contender for this year's GOTY.

The game was originally released on June 14, 2013 to widespread critical acclaim. It was the second biggest video game launch of 2013 so far with over 1.3 million units sold in its first week. It has received perfect scores from publications such as IGN, PlayStation Magazine, Edge, and Eurogamer.

The story follows Joel, voiced and motion capture acted by Troy Baker, as he escorts a young girl named Ellie across a post-apocalyptic United States in the year 2033. It is set in the aftermath of the outbreak of a cordyceps fungus that turns humans into zombie-like monsters.

It was developed at Naughty Dog, with Bruce Straley directing.