Marathon Developer Bungie Launches 'Thorough Review' After Once Again Being Found to Have Used Work From an Uncredited Artist

Bungie, the developer behind Destiny 2, is once again facing allegations of plagiarism, this time related to their upcoming sci-fi shooter, Marathon. The accusations stem from artist Antireal, who claims that the game's alpha playtest environments feature icons and graphics directly lifted from their poster designs shared on social media back in 2017.

Antireal took to X/Twitter to express frustration, stating, "the Marathon alpha released recently and its environments are covered with assets lifted from poster designs I made in 2017." They highlighted the issue by sharing screenshots from the alpha playtest. The artist further elaborated, "Bungie is, of course, not obligated to hire me when making a game that draws overwhelmingly from the same design language I have refined for the last decade, but clearly my work was good enough to pillage for ideas and plaster all over their game without pay or attribution."

Expressing exhaustion and financial struggles, Antireal added, "I don't have the resources nor the energy to spare to pursue this legally but I have lost count of the number of times a major company has deemed it easier to pay a designer to imitate or steal my work than to write me an email. In 10 years, I have never made a consistent income from this work and I am tired of designers from huge companies moodboarding and parasitising my designs while I struggle to make a living."

Bungie responded swiftly, launching an investigation and attributing the issue to a former employee. In a statement, they said, "We immediately investigated a concern regarding unauthorized use of artist decals in Marathon and confirmed that a former Bungie artist included these in a texture sheet that was ultimately used in-game. This issue was unknown by our existing art team, and we are still reviewing how this oversight occurred."

The studio emphasized their commitment to resolving the issue, stating, "We take matters like this very seriously. We have reached out to [the artist] to discuss this issue and are committed to do right by the artist. As a matter of policy, we do not use the work of artists without their permission."

Bungie also announced measures to prevent future occurrences, including a thorough review of in-game assets and implementing stricter checks to document artist contributions. They concluded, "We value the creativity and dedication of all artists who contribute to our games, and we are committed to doing right by them. Thank you for bringing this to our attention."

This incident is not isolated. In October, Bungie faced a lawsuit from a writer who alleged that the studio stole plot elements from his story for Destiny 2's 2017 storyline, The Red War. Bungie attempted to have the lawsuit dismissed, but a judge denied the request as the studio struggled to provide evidence, especially after "vaulting" the content, making it no longer publicly playable.

Additionally, just weeks before that lawsuit, Bungie investigated how a NERF gun based on Destiny 2's iconic Ace of Spades was nearly an exact replica of fanart designed back in 2015, including intricate details like brush strokes, scratches, and smudges.