Within 24 hours since its beta’s soft launch in Australia, Canada, Sweden, and New Zealand, Stellaris: Galaxy Command was suspended. The move was due to an issue in its artwork.
On Tuesday, October 15, Paradox officially introduced the game. This is the company’s first attempt at mobile gaming. While Paradox is not the one developing it, it is the upcoming title’s publisher.
The game appeared promising, especially that it features remarkable graphics and design. However, it was noticed that a piece of its artwork has a resemblance to that of Halo. The latter is the first-person shooter game published by Microsoft Game Studios.
In a tweet via the Stellaris: Galaxy Command mobile game’s official account, Paradox admitted the incident and apologized to fans. According to the Swedish firm, there is an artwork in the game that was “taken from another source.”
Stellaris: Galaxy Command players.
We have an important statement for you, regarding the current suspension of our game's servers. pic.twitter.com/F8Way6ar9a
— Stellaris: Galaxy Command (@StellarisMobile) October 15, 2019
It is worth noting that GameBear is the mobile studio in charge of developing the game. This means that Paradox is not part of the team that designs it. Nevertheless, the publisher disclosed that the artwork in question would be removed. Thus, suspending the beta was necessary to ensure that the issue is resolved before it gets online once again.
Amid the controversy, Paradox admitted that a mistake on their part was “clearly” committed. With the company looking into it right now, when would the Stellaris: Galaxy Command be up again?
The Stockholm-based firm did not give any target date in its post. What it promised is that it is fixing the problem as quickly as possible. It is also working closely with GameBear in making sure that the mobile game will be of “high standards.”
The artwork that put Paradox and its forthcoming mobile game in hot water is posted at ArtStation.com. This is the original piece published on the page of the 343 Industries technical art director Kenny “Louie500” Magnusson.
Stellaris: Galaxy Command is a title based on the Paradox-developed grand strategy game Stellaris. The original one received several good reviews. Thus, it is no longer a surprise if many players are excited about the mobile version’s arrival. But, its introduction did not start on a good note.
Besides the “stolen” artwork issue, it was also noticed that the error message on it is that of another game. The dialogue box mentions Nova Empire, the other title from GameBear. This ignited more controversy.
In response to a follower on Twitter, Paradox disclosed that it is indeed a placeholder from Nova Empire. However, the publisher explained that it was copied when the game did not have yet a name.
