A new product from GelSoft caught the eye of some Overwatch fans due to its suspicious resemblance to the guns wielded by the beloved face of the game, Tracer.





Tracer’s pulse pistol appears to have been copied by the toy company, who creates plastic guns which fire small gel pellets.





The product page for this plastic pistol proudly boasts that this is one of the coolest looking guns in stock. They are right, because it’s a world famous design from one of the most popular video games in the world. This appears to be an unlicensed reproduction of the weapon, since there is no mention anywhere on the product’s page indicating a connection to Overwatch.





The evidence





When it comes to sci-fi technology, there can be some gray areas in regards to copying a look or a style. Direct copies, however, are still obvious. Here are the pictures side by side. The first image is the GelSoft gun, and the second image is a screen shot from Overwatch.





Image via GelSoft

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Image via Blizzard Entertainment





The weapons appear identical to even the most casual observer. The shape of the weapon is the same. The color and texture patterns are exactly alike. Even details such as the number 39 placed on the weapon, the futuristic circle in the middle, and the three lines on the side of the pistol all appear to be copied. All aspects of these two designs are identical.





The sentence: Guilty of copying a dope design





As a self-appointed arbiter of cheap knock offs, I think it’s pretty safe to say that this design was wholesale stolen. The description of the product says that it features a “futuristic design” and is designed with “theoretical Gauss technology possibilities in mind.” So at least they didn’t steal the Overwatch description and name for the gun. Is that better?





This is certainly not the first time that someone has sold designs based on other IPs, but this is one of the more blatant examples.