Artist Plagiarized by Bungie’s Marathon Game Issues Statement

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After nearly seven months, artist Antireal announced on Twitter that they’ve resolved a plagiarism dispute with Bungie, the developer of the Marathon game, and its parent company, Sony. Bungie, known for the popular Destiny series, is trying to revive its Marathon shooter from 1994, but faced accusations earlier this year that the new game used artwork without permission.

Since it was announced in 2023, the game Marathon has faced several issues. The most significant problem arose when it was discovered that Bungie used artwork created by an artist without their consent. Antireal first pointed this out on Twitter in May, noting that the early version of Marathon included designs directly copied from posters the artist made in 2017. Antireal shared several examples of this alleged plagiarism, and Bungie responded within a day.

Bungie quickly responded to concerns that its game, Marathon, had plagiarized designs. They explained that a former artist had included artwork from another creator, Antireal, in a texture used in the game. Bungie is looking into how this happened and emphasized that they take these issues seriously. They’ve contacted the original artist to discuss the situation and make things right, and expressed their appreciation to the community for pointing it out. Bungie also stated they value the work of all artists.

Marathon’s Plagiarism Incident Has Been Resolved Privately

After Bungie initially addressed the situation, there hadn’t been much public discussion for several months. Now, artist Antireal has announced on Twitter that a resolution has been reached with Bungie and Sony Interactive Entertainment. In a post on December 2nd, Antireal stated they were satisfied with the outcome. The specifics of the agreement haven’t been made public, suggesting it was a private settlement between the parties involved. It’s unclear whether the artist received financial compensation, credit within the game, or both. As of today, neither Bungie nor Sony has officially commented on the resolution.

The dispute originally involved Antireal and Bungie, but Sony acquired the Marathon and Destiny studio in 2022, adding Sony Interactive Entertainment to the situation. More recently, Sony’s CFO Lin Tao announced plans for tighter control over Bungie, aiming to fully incorporate the studio into PlayStation Studios. However, despite this, Marathon is still planned for release on multiple platforms – PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC – though a specific launch date hasn’t been announced yet.

Beyond concerns about copied content, Bungie’s upcoming game, Marathon, has faced several hurdles since it was first announced two years ago. Originally planned for release on September 23rd, the game has been delayed indefinitely. This followed negative feedback from players who participated in an early test phase, prompting Bungie to make significant improvements. While the game hasn’t been cancelled, it’s clearly undergoing major changes, and Bungie hasn’t announced a new release date yet. The studio plans to improve the AI, making enemies more challenging, and to add more rewarding loot and dynamic events to gameplay runs. They’re also redesigning the combat system and expanding the game’s story through both narrative and environmental details.

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2025-12-03 02:05