For those of us who make it a point to start the day right by fragging people in Unreal Tournament 3 (Xbox 360, PC, PS3), it seems that there's quite a controversy being stirred up in relation to the recently-released trailer showcasing the Xbox 360 version of the game. Apparently, the map featured at around the video timestamp 0:47 to 0:48 of the trailer shows off a map that allegedly had its concept, look, and feel stolen from a similar-looking map made by mod creator EpicJon.

The mod creator was notified about the trailer, and soon enough, he posted in the company's official forums to air his discontent and want of recognition. Predictably, things got a bit muddy from there on in, with lots of flame-throwing from all sides. Soon enough, however, Epic Games VP Mark Rein stepped into the picture and released this post in EpicJon's thread:

I've asked our guys to look into this. As I said in my email to you I assure you that Epic is not the kind of company that would knowingly steal somebody's work.

He then went on to say that not only do they ask for permission to use user-created content, but the company has often gone out and paid the creators themselves to license their maps. Admirable, yes, and while we certainly don't condone stealing user content, it's a bit far-fetched that Epic Games would stop their practice of paying mod creators and licensing their content now, and start stealing left and right.

Still, this is a very serious accusation, and we're glad that Epic Games is taking this one with the sufficient amount of gravity. Updates as we get them.