Overwatch Skin Design Contest Disqualifies Players For AI And Plagiarism

Overwatch Skin Design Contest Filled With AI Submissions And Plagiarism Source: Blizzard Published Oct 18, 2026, 7:35 AM EDT James Lucas is an Executive Editor at TheGamer who has worked in professional journalism since 2018. A Newcastle University graduate with a degree in Journalism, Media, and Culture, they have written hundreds of guides, news stories, and original reports, with bylines in IGN, NME, GaymingMag, and VG247, sourcing interviews with studio heads, legendary industry figures, prominent actors, and more. An expert on FPS games, Soulslikes, RPGs, and survival horror, James has intimate knowledge of a wide variety of titles, providing in-depth coverage and exclusive profiles. Some of the games they have extensively covered include: Half-Life, Counter-Strike, Elden Ring, and Fallout. They pride themselves on their consistently thorough research, leveraging nearly a decade of industry experience. You can reach them at James.t@thegamer.com Sign in to your TheGamer account Overwatch’s second If The Crisis Had Never Happened skin design contest, overseen by the game's development team, is messier than an overtime payload right now. Within two days of the results being announced, three of the winning entries have been embroiled in accusations of AI use, plagiarism, and recycling previously published work. As reported by Taiwanese news outlet 4Gamers, the winners were announced on October 16, but it didn't take long for the first controversy to hit. Third-place winner Animal Maid Café was disqualified following allegations of AI use, with the award to be passed on to the next-ranked submission. "We have taken note of the discussions surrounding the Animal Maid Café series, which was announced as a winning entry in this skin contest," the official statement reads, as translated by DeepL. "After verification and careful evaluation, we have determined that the creation method used for this entry does not comply with the guidelines set forth for this contest. As a result, we have decided to revoke this entry's award." The D.Va Second-Place Controversy Second place wasn't spared the drama, either. Colombian artist Karulox alleged on X that the prize-winning Funeral of Love D.Va skin (which lacked a mech) had copied their 2015 design. The accusation quickly gained traction among Chinese players, many of whom reported the submission to the organizers. Then there's the Ana: Silver Gift skin, another third-place winner. Players pointed out that the design had previously been created for a collaboration with a fan-run café in May. The creator assured that they'd refined the original before submitting it, but the competition rules state that entries must be original works created specifically for the contest. With first place carrying a 20,000-yuan prize (roughly $3,000) and winning designs being considered for official skins, it's hardly reassuring that AI and plagiarism so easily slipped through the cracks. As Chinese outlet SMZDM reports, much of the backlash has centered on community votes accounting for just 10% of the final score, with the remaining 90% determined by the official judging panel, given that the judges failed to vet submissions. The official winners page still lists Animal Maid Café and Ana: Silver Gift among the third-place winners, and Funeral of Love D.Va in second place. However, a Reddit post discussing the winners claims that Ana's Silver Gift skin has been moved up to second place, while Mizuki and Anran have taken third. Though even these have come under fire for not matching the contest's theme. Released May 24, 2016 ESRB T for Teen: Blood, Use of Tobacco, Violence (online interactions not rated) Developer(s) Blizzard Publisher(s) Blizzard Engine Proprietary Multiplayer Online Multiplayer Cross-Platform Play ps5, xbox , pc Cross Save yes Franchise Overwatch Genre(s) First-Person Shooter