Bungie Initiates Comprehensive Review Following Uncredited Artwork Incident

Bungie, the developer behind Destiny 2, finds itself embroiled in yet another controversy over allegations of plagiarism. This time, the accusations stem from artist Antireal, who claims that Bungie used elements of their artwork without permission in the upcoming sci-fi shooter, Marathon. Screenshots from Marathon's alpha playtest, shared on Twitter, appear to show icons and graphics that Antireal alleges were originally posted on social media 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

Expressing frustration, Antireal stated on X/Twitter, "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 lamented the lack of consistent income over the past decade and the frequent instances of major companies allegedly copying or stealing their work.

Bungie responded swiftly, though without a public apology, announcing an investigation into the matter. The company attributed the issue to a former Bungie artist and confirmed they had reached out to the affected artist.

"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," the team 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 for Bungie, which has faced similar accusations in the past. In October, the studio was sued by a writer who claimed Bungie stole plot elements for Destiny 2's 2017 storyline, The Red War. Bungie attempted to dismiss the lawsuit, but a judge denied the request, especially challenging since Bungie had "vaulted" the content, making it no longer accessible to the public.

Additionally, just before the lawsuit was filed, Bungie investigated how a NERF gun based on Destiny 2's Ace of Spades was almost entirely replicated from fanart created in 2015, down to the smallest details.