Bungie Initiates 'Thorough Review' After Uncredited Artist's Work Used Again

Destiny 2 developer Bungie is once again facing allegations of plagiarism, this time related to its upcoming sci-fi shooter, Marathon. The accusations come from artist Antireal, who claims that Bungie used elements of their artwork without permission or credit in the game's environments. Antireal shared screenshots from Marathon's alpha playtest on X/Twitter, highlighting icons and graphics that closely resemble their designs from 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 use of their work by major companies without compensation or acknowledgment. "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. Antireal also highlighted the struggle to earn a consistent income from their art while larger companies benefit from their designs.

Bungie responded promptly, launching an investigation and attributing the issue to a former employee. The company reached out to Antireal to discuss the matter but did not issue a public apology.

"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," Bungie stated. "This issue was unknown by our existing art team, and we are still reviewing how this oversight occurred.

"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 incident is part of a pattern of allegations against Bungie. In October, the company was sued by a writer who claimed that plot elements from his story were used in Destiny 2's 2017 storyline, The Red War. Bungie attempted to dismiss the lawsuit, but a judge denied the request as the studio struggled to provide evidence, especially since the content in question had been "vaulted" and was no longer accessible to the public.

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