A painting in Crisis Core Final Fantasy 7 Reunion ‘has a Getty Images watermark’

Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Reunion seemingly features several in-game paintings with the Getty Images watermark on them.

Discovered by Kotaku, at least three of the in-game paintings including the watermark appear in the recently released remake of the PSP game.

The Getty Images watermark features prominently on works licensed by the company. This is generally used to dissuade unauthorised use, but it’s not clear whether this example is deliberate or a case of Square Enix forgetting to remove a placeholder image.

In the image below, you can see where the watermark is featured. According  to Kotaku, the image is from a piece by John Crowther depicting Ludgate Circus in London.

VGC has reached out to Square Enix for comment.

This isn’t the first time unauthorized artwork has been used by a massive publisher in a video game. In 2021 Judy A Juracek filed a lawsuit against Capcom, alleging that it used photos from her copyrighted book, Surfaces, for textures used in its games including Resident Evil 4 and Devil May Cry.

Part of Juracek’s evidence came from 2020’s Capcom data breach. The lawsuit included over 80 images allegedly showing Juracek’s images repurposed in various Capcom games, even including the Resident Evil 4 logo.

The issue was “amicably resolved” between the designer and Capcom. No other details have been provided, but it’s likely a settlement was involved.

Further reading

Review: Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Reunion has plenty to offer as a remaster

Square Enix’s PSP remaster is sharp and slick, yet feels a little fragmented as a console game

VGC’s Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Reunion review said the game “has plenty to offer as a remaster, with improved visuals and tighter combat than the PSP original”.

It adds: “The fragmented structure of the game, however, remains more suited to a handheld machine, and a poor English script is sadly unchanged. If you’re hankering for more Final Fantasy VII, though, it’s well worth diving in.”