Bungie’s Marathon Facing Plagiarism Allegations During Alpha Testing
Bungie, renowned for its Halo and Destiny franchises, is currently navigating through public testing for its latest project, the Marathon reboot. As fans engage with this extraction shooter experience, some unsettling revelations have come to light concerning the use of art assets in the game. A talented artist, Antireal, has accused Bungie of utilizing her artwork without permission during this initial testing phase.
The Allegations: Unpermitted Use of Art
Antireal, the artist in question, presented side-by-side comparisons demonstrating the striking similarities between her creations from 2017 and the environmental art developed for Marathon. The comparisons indicate that even the text elements from her original pieces appear to have been replicated in the game, albeit with alterations that give the impression of weathering and wear.
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
Social Media Interaction and Lack of Communication
Interestingly, several Bungie artists, including Joseph Cross, the art director for the Marathon franchise, have followed Antireal’s work on social media for several years. However, Antireal noted that there has been no direct communication from Bungie’s team regarding the use of her material.
In her social media comments, Antireal expressed her frustrations, 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.”She lamented that pursuing legal action is not feasible for her due to resource constraints, highlighting a broader issue of how major companies often overlook the rights of independent artists.
Bungie’s Official Response
In response to the growing concerns, Bungie released a statement via their Marathon development team’s social media account this morning. They acknowledged the unauthorized use of Antireal’s artwork:
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. We take matters like this very seriously. We have reached out to @4nt1r34l 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.
Forward Steps: Commitment to Artists
Bungie further stated that they are conducting an internal review of their assets to prevent similar situations in the future. They expressed their dedication to ensuring the proper documentation of artist contributions, affirming their appreciation for the creativity and efforts of all artists involved in their projects.“We value the creativity and dedication of all artists who contribute to our games, and we are committed to doing right by them, ”the statement concluded.
This incident underscores the importance of respecting creative rights in the gaming industry and serves as a reminder for developers to implement rigorous checks regarding the originality of their content.
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