Bungie Faces Existential Crisis Amid Plagiarism Scandal, Fans Debate Studio's Future

As Destiny 2 developer Bungie scrambles to recover its reputation following yet another accusation of art plagiarism, this time related to their upcoming game Marathon, the community is abuzz with speculation and concern about the studio's future.

Last week's accusation led to an "immediate investigation" and a subsequent acknowledgment from Bungie that a "former Bungie artist" had used Fern Hook's artwork without permission or credit. In a highly scrutinized livestream on Friday night, Marathon game director Joe Ziegler and art director Joe Cross issued an apology, admitting they were "still scrubbing all of our assets to make sure that we are being respectful of the situation."

Since then, the gaming community has been rife with discussions and theories. Players are trying to identify the "former artist" involved, while others express feelings of disillusionment, with one stating they "just feel hollow." There's also widespread speculation about Marathon's potential for success, with some fearing a disastrous launch.

One player suggested, "The game went from mixed/negative reception to PLAGIARISM_WILL_MAKE_ME_GOD, four months from launch in the eyes of the larger gaming community. If they don't delay it, it's 100% DOA. If the game does in fact die, we're talking over $100 million+ lost (probably a gross underestimate for a AAA game/studio). So yeah, really bad. Make no mistake, this is an existential struggle for Bungie at this point."

Another speculated on a more moderate outcome, saying, "I think it releases to a very lukewarm reception, similar to the Destiny expansion in July. It will last til January for active updates, put in maintenance mode til about summer 2026, then shut down with Bungie finally absorbed into Sony."

The situation is reminiscent of the "Concord" debacle, where Firewalk Studios' online hero shooter was pulled from sale just weeks after its launch last year. Analysts reported dismal sales, with only 25,000 units sold and a peak concurrent player count of 697 on Steam. This poor performance was overshadowed only by Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, which Warner Bros. Discovery's CEO David Zaslav labeled a disappointment.

Marathon - Gameplay Screenshots

View 14 ImagesIn another thread, a fan echoed the sentiments of Destiny lore YouTuber My Name is Byf, expressing concern for the employees who might be affected if Bungie fails, stating, "watching the video just sort of reminded me that most of the people who will likely be affected if Bungie goes under are completely unrelated employees that don't deserve to be punished over this. I sort of feel ill about the whole situation now [...] I want to see them make an effort to [independent artist] Antireal. I want to see them take the steps towards making sure this never happens again. I want them to win back whatever they need to make this game special (Goodwill, a delay, anything). I WANT to see the Marathon ship in this artstyle, man."

However, not all potential players are deterred by the controversy. One enthusiast said, "Ima be real I’m excited for this game. All this art drama is way overblown. I think from what I’ve gathered in this game I fully anticipate the aliens to inevitably make their way into the game. Other than that I’d like the characters to be customizable but I anticipate any big changes like that to come later. Very hyped for Marathon."

Another user reflected on the broader context of artistic influence, citing a famous musician's view on copyright: "I can't remember who exactly, but it was a famous musician talking about how he would never copyright others' music because all music eventually comes back to the same source. Basically the same principal every artist has been inspired by some other artists and so on and so forth. Of course, it's not cool to blatantly just copy/paste someone's work, but then again, even the concept of completely original art is debatable. Especially since there are recorded cases of people making basically the same art around the same time as someone else. So yeah, it's pretty overblown."

Amidst the turmoil, a message of support came through: "For any Bungie employees checking in here, please remember that you have millions of fans that want to see Marathon succeed." Forbes reports that the studio is currently in "chaos," with morale at an all-time low. Marathon is slated to launch on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X and S on September 23.