Bungie Initiates Comprehensive Review Following Uncredited Art Usage Claims

Bungie, the developer behind Destiny 2, faces fresh allegations of plagiarism, this time linked to their upcoming sci-fi shooter, Marathon. Following claims from multiple artists and a writer about unauthorized use of their work, artist Antireal has accused Bungie of incorporating elements from their 2017 social media-shared designs into Marathon's environments. Screenshots from the game's alpha playtest, shared via X/Twitter, show icons and graphics that Antireal claims as their own.

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

Antireal expressed frustration over the unauthorized use of their work, stating, "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 further lamented the struggle to make a living while large companies exploit their designs.

In response, Bungie acted swiftly, launching an investigation and attributing the issue to a former employee. The studio issued a statement acknowledging the unauthorized use of the artist's decals in a texture sheet used in-game, stating, "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 rectifying the situation, saying, "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 documentation of 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; Bungie has previously faced similar accusations. In October, a writer sued the studio for allegedly stealing plot elements from his story for Destiny 2's 2017 storyline, The Red War. Despite Bungie's attempt to dismiss the lawsuit, a judge denied the request, and the content in question has since been "vaulted" and is no longer accessible to the public.

Additionally, just weeks before the lawsuit, Bungie investigated how a NERF gun based on Destiny 2's Ace of Spades was nearly identical to fanart from 2015, including intricate details down to brush strokes and smudges.