Bungie Initiates Thorough Review Following Uncredited Artwork Incident

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 come from artist Antireal, who claims that Bungie used their artwork without permission or credit in the game's environments. Antireal shared screenshots from Marathon's alpha playtest on social media, pointing out specific icons and graphics that they originally designed and shared back in 2017.

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 over the repeated theft of their work by major companies, emphasizing the financial struggles they face as a result. "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," they wrote.

Bungie responded swiftly, initiating 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."

Bungie emphasized their commitment to resolving the matter and ensuring it doesn't happen again. "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 similar issues in the future, we are conducting a thorough review of our in-game assets, specifically those done by the former Bungie artist, and implementing stricter checks to document all 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."

This is not the first time Bungie has been accused of intellectual property theft. In October, a writer filed a lawsuit against Bungie, claiming that the studio stole plot elements from his story for Destiny 2's 2017 storyline, The Red War. Bungie attempted to dismiss the lawsuit, but a judge denied their request as the studio struggled to provide evidence, especially since the content in question had been "vaulted" and was no longer publicly accessible.

Additionally, just weeks before the lawsuit, Bungie investigated how a NERF gun based on Destiny 2's iconic Ace of Spades was nearly identical to fanart designed in 2015, down to the smallest details.