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

Bungie, the developer behind Destiny 2, finds itself embroiled in yet another plagiarism controversy. This time, the accusations come from artist Antireal, who alleges that Bungie used elements of their artwork in the environments of the upcoming sci-fi shooter, Marathon. Antireal shared screenshots from Marathon's alpha playtest on X/Twitter, pointing out icons and graphics that they claim were lifted 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, 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." The artist also highlighted the broader issue of major companies using their designs without compensation, noting, "In 10 years, I have never made a consistent income from this work and I am tired of designers from huge companies moodboarding and parasitising my designs while I struggle to make a living."

Bungie responded swiftly, though without a public apology. The studio confirmed it had launched an investigation, attributing the issue to a former Bungie artist. In a statement, the team explained, "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, stating, "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." The studio also announced plans to prevent future incidents, including a thorough review of in-game assets and implementing stricter checks to document all artist contributions.

This incident is part of a pattern for Bungie. In October, the studio faced a lawsuit from a writer who claimed Bungie stole plot elements from his story for Destiny 2's 2017 storyline, The Red War. Although Bungie attempted to dismiss the lawsuit, a judge denied the request, and the studio struggled to provide evidence as the content had been "vaulted" and was no longer publicly playable.

Just weeks before that lawsuit, Bungie investigated another case where a NERF gun based on Destiny 2's Ace of Spades was found to be almost an exact replica of fanart from 2015, down to the brush strokes and smudges.