Bungie Faces Backlash Over Art Theft Controversy in Marathon Game

by

Summary

  • Bungie faces backlash with an art theft controversy surrounding the upcoming game Marathon.
  • Artist Antireal accuses Bungie of art theft in Marathon after seeing identical copies of her work in the game’s environment.
  • Bungie’s reputation is at risk with accusations of art theft, lack of prevention systems, and potential delay for Marathon.

Over the past few months, Bungie has faced numerous challenges following the release of Destiny 2’s The Final Shape expansion, including company-wide layoffs, debates about the game’s quality, and now problems with Marathon before its scheduled launch on September 23rd. Marathon, in development for quite some time, initially was envisioned as a hero shooter, but has since evolved into a PvPvE extraction shooter featuring customizable characters and loadouts. The general sentiment about the game has been divided, leaning towards negative, and the recent art theft controversy swirling around Marathon’s aesthetic and artist 4nt1r34l (Antireal) hasn’t helped those who are undecided.

More recently, Antireal voiced her discomfort and annoyance on Twitter about finding work she created as far back as 2017 being extensively used within the Marathon alpha test environment. She utilized Twitter to exhibit her graphic design pieces and demonstrated how they were frequently replicated throughout the world of Marathon, often copied directly from Antireal’s posters – character by character, phrase by phrase. Bungie has acknowledged this predicament on social media and during a live stream, but a resolution between the parties has not been reached as of yet.

How Marathon Ended Up With ‘Stolen’ Art in Its Environment

In a similar vein, Antireal posted pictures of her posters featuring the identical “Aleph” script, typography, and artistic style found in the game, as well as multiple instances where Bungie’s art appeared to be copied directly from other sources and incorporated into Marathon. On their social media platforms, Bungie admitted to an instance of plagiarism by issuing a statement. It appears that during an internal investigation, they discovered that a former employee had left several decals bearing Antireal’s artwork in a texture sheet which eventually found its way into the sci-fi setting of Marathon.

A different perspective being presented is that Antireal didn’t originate her art style, as designs similar to hers can be seen in games like Wipeout or the graphic design studio The Designers Republic. However, it’s pointed out that numerous aspects of Antireal’s work are noticeably present in Marathon’s game environment.

Bungie’s Statement About Art Theft in Marathon and Reactions Explained

As a gamer, I was taken aback when Bungie admitted they’d reached out to Antireal about her artwork being used without permission. The studio’s statement didn’t feel genuine to me and many other fans, especially since it came out just 12 hours after Antireal’s post. It seemed more like damage control than the outcome of a thorough investigation.

On top of that, this isn’t the first time Bungie has been accused of plagiarism in recent years. Four times, to be exact. These repeated accusations cast doubt on their commitment to originality and creative integrity.

In 2021, an incident occurred involving fan art of Xivu Arath being utilized unauthorized within Destiny 2. A similar occurrence took place in 2023 when fan artwork was integrated into a Destiny 2 cutscene. The third instance transpired in 2024, where the design for the Ace of Spades NERF gun in Destiny 2 was copied from that of a fan’s work, with the replica exhibiting identical patterns. As a result, Antireal presenting evidence that Marathon used her art without permission has raised significant concerns about Bungie’s reputation and underscores the necessity for Bungie to establish preventive measures moving forward.

In summary, it’s worth mentioning that several Twitter users have pointed out that various Marathon and Bungie developers, including the game’s art director, Joseph Cross, follow Antireal on the platform. This has led many to question whether the actions attributed to a former employee are indeed the sole cause of the situation. Whether this is accurate or not, as well as what kind of resolution Bungie and Antireal may reach, remains uncertain. The release date for Marathon is fast approaching, but there’s a possibility that this controversy could lead to a delay in the game’s release, potentially pushing it back to later this year or even 2026.

Read More

2025-05-18 00:25