You live in a deluded fantasy that free market and zero regulation means honest brokers and business ventures. Grow up and get passed Friedman's fallacy along with Ayn Rand.
Actually you live in, we all live in this deluded fantasy of perverted and ridiculous fight over an idea that is inspired from another idea. You want credit for where it came from, fine, but dont lock it down to where someone else cant add to it. Even school systems want in on this IP crap, wanting to earn from the inspiration of a body of people. The real fantasy is where we all live in a free market, however with a system. It can happen with honest people and initiative, it is all a part of growing up. If you want profit, go get a patent, or hack the current tech and just support yourself. We got to go open source and support each other, we just need a system. Because theres so much open source out there, but not one platform we all can agree on, once we can agree on a platform and initiate a free market, then what are all the big corps going to do and the government for that matter? They Need Us You are only limited by what you expect of yourself.
So there's a copyrighted look, a trademarked name, and a patented design. Players demand real brand-name stuff in their games, so developers deliver by licensing real brand-name stuff in their games. To do this legally means getting a license.
What's so shady about that?
As the article stated, Gun manufactures are given full disclosure of how their weapons are demonstrated to the public, therefore allowing them some control in how the game is made. Meaning, developers are just middle men and not originators of the game. This is way deeper than some brand name look, this goes into conditioning. Gun manufactures have influence in game dialogue, character development and game design and marketing of it. Conditioning includes the idea good guy and bad guy which can skew the perception of those playing it 12hour on and off.
"Take that, you hostile sons-of-bitches!" -- James Coburn, in the finale of _The_President's_Analyst_