IGN Fires Editor, Pulls Posts After Plagiarism Allegations Surface

Online gaming publication IGN has pulled numerous posts by former editor Filip Miucin after evidence surfaced he plagiarized work from other websites and YouTube videos.

“FYI, we’ve seen enough now, both from the thread and our own searches, that we’re taking down pretty much everything he did,” IGN executive editor of reviews Dan Stapleton wrote on Twitter Tuesday. “It’s a process, but you’ll start seeing stuff come down tonight.”

FYI, we’ve seen enough now, both from the thread and our own searches, that we’re taking down pretty much everything he did. It’s a process, but you’ll start seeing stuff come down tonight.

— Dan Stapleton (@DanStapleton) August 15, 2018

The allegations surfaced last week after YouTuber Boomstick Gaming posted a video claiming Miucin’s IGN review of Motion Twin’s 2D roguelike Metroidvania game “Dead Cells” lifted parts of his own review. In a side-by-side comparison, he points out numerous sentences and phrases in Miucin’s writing that sound very similar to his own.

IGN pulled Miucin’s review and launched an investigation. It promptly fired him the next day, issued an apology, and said it would re-review “Dead Cells.”

Popular on Variety

Miucin, a former YouTuber, posted a video response on his channel (that’s since been deleted). In the video, he said his “review process isn’t really that different from other reviewers” and “I try to look at all resources that I have available to me before I start formulating my own critical opinions so that I can offer the most cohesive possible review.”

Miucin then criticized Kotaku and one of its writers, Jason Schreier, who reported on his firing. He claimed his work with IGN was original and told the gaming outlet to “keep looking and please let me know if you find anything.” He also accused Schreier of “just trying to get as many clicks off my name right now as possible.”

Soon after, more examples of plagiarism surfaced. Miucin lifted parts of a “Bayonetta 2” review from Polygon, according to a post on ResetEra. He also allegedly swiped excerpts from Wikipedia and word-for-word copied a NeoGAF post for a video about the Nintendo Switch’s HD rumble feature.

Variety reached out to Miucin, but he did not immediately respond to our request for comment.

Must Read

Film
COVER | Sebastian Stan Tells All: Becoming Donald Trump and Starring in 2024’s Most Controversial Movie
By Andrew Wallenstein 2 weeks

Sign Up for Variety Newsletters

By providing your information, you agree to our Terms of Use and our Privacy Policy.We use vendors that may also process your information to help provide our services. // This site is protected by reCAPTCHA Enterprise and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

ncG1vNJzZmiukae2psDYZ5qopV9nfXKEjqCYpqGenHyvsdasZqKfnmKzqrjIqWSmoaWYtq95z6WYoKGRp7a0uYxqaWlqaWWDcn2PaA%3D%3D

Martina Birk

Update: 2024-08-02

BlinkBlog