Bungie, the developer behind Destiny 2, finds itself embroiled in another plagiarism controversy, this time related to their upcoming sci-fi shooter, Marathon. Following a series of allegations from artists and a writer who claimed their work was used without permission or credit, a new artist has come forward with similar accusations regarding the environments in Marathon. Artist Antireal took to social media to share screenshots from the Marathon alpha playtest, alleging that the game features icons and graphics directly taken from their 2017 poster designs.
the Marathon alpha released recently and its environments are covered with assets lifted from poster designs i made in 2017.@Bungie @josephacross pic.twitter.com/0Csbo48Jgb
— N² (@4nt1r34l) May 15, 2025
In a statement on X/Twitter, Antireal expressed frustration, noting that while Bungie was not obligated to hire them, the studio had used their work without compensation or acknowledgment. "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," they wrote, highlighting the ongoing struggle to earn a living from their designs.
Bungie responded swiftly, launching an investigation and attributing the issue to a former employee. While the studio did not issue a public apology, it acknowledged the problem in a statement: "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."
Bungie emphasized its commitment to resolving the issue with the affected artist and stated, "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."
To prevent future incidents, Bungie announced plans to conduct a thorough review of in-game assets and implement stricter checks to document artist contributions. "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," the studio concluded.
This isn't the first time Bungie has faced such allegations. In October, the studio was sued by a writer who claimed the studio stole plot elements from his story for Destiny 2's 2017 storyline, The Red War. Bungie's attempt to dismiss the lawsuit was denied by a judge, as the studio struggled to provide evidence, especially after "vaulting" the content, making it no longer accessible to the public.
Just weeks before the lawsuit, Bungie had to investigate another case where a NERF gun based on Destiny 2's Ace of Spades was found to be nearly identical to fanart from 2015, including every detail down to the brush strokes and smudges.
