The First Descendant devs respond to allegations they copied a bunch of Destiny 2 icons

From the moment of its release, players have been calling out The First Descendant for how much, inspiration, it takes from other popular loot shooters. The two most commonly cited examples are Warframe and Destiny 2.

While much of what TFD borrows from Warframe is limited to mechanics and some of how it handles crafting and character building, the Destiny 2 comparisons extend the design of in-game icons. After players pointed out how several icons bear more than a passing resemblance to ones found in Destiny 2, developer Nexon has responded.

In a statement provided to Forbes contributor Post Paul Tassi, Nexon admitted that Destiny 2 – as the premier loot shooter, was unsurprisingly a big inspiration for the team.

“The First Descendant, as a looter shooter game, was developed with a deep affection and respect for other games in the genre,” the statement reads. “Destiny 2, being a globally renowned looter shooter game, is also personally admired and respected by the team, and it has served as an inspiration during the development process.”

As evident as that is, however, the similarities between the icons in the two games may be stretching that definition, and it’s something Nexon will actually work to address.

“We have taken the concerns raised seriously and decided to make adjustments to ensure that the imagery that may appear similar clearly reflects the unique identity of our game,” it goes on. “We will continue to improve the game for fans of the looter shooter genre.”

It’ll be interesting to see how far the developer goes to make the icons in The First Descendant more distinct. So far, the team has been fairly receptive to player feedback, adding a highly-requested feature in the game’s first patch, improving the drop rate of certain items – and even leaving some of the game’s powerful builds alone.