Bungie Initiates 'Thorough Review' After Uncredited Art Discovery

Destiny 2 developer Bungie is once again facing allegations of plagiarism after another artist accused the studio of "lifting" elements from their artwork, this time for its upcoming sci-fi shooter, Marathon.

After multiple artists and a writer came forward saying Bungie used their work without permission or credit, yet another artist claims their creations were incorporated into Marathon’s environments. Screenshots from Marathon’s alpha playtest, shared alongside the tweet, show artist Antireal identifying specific icons and graphics they designed—some 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

"Bungie isn’t required to hire me when making a game that heavily draws from the same design style I’ve spent the last decade refining, but it’s clear my work was valuable enough to copy, repurpose, and plaster across their game without payment or recognition," the artist wrote in a statement posted to X/Twitter.

"I don’t have the resources or energy to take legal action, but I’ve lost count of how often big companies have found it easier to pay someone to copy or steal my work than to simply reach out. In ten years, I’ve never earned steady income from this art, and I’m exhausted seeing designers from major studios moodboard and parasitize my designs while I fight to make ends meet."

Bungie responded within hours. Though it did not issue a public apology, it announced it had launched an investigation, blaming the "issue" on a former Bungie artist, and contacted the affected artist.

"We take matters like this very seriously. We have reached out to [the artist] to discuss this issue and are committed to doing right by them. 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 created by the former Bungie artist, and implementing stricter checks to properly document all artist contributions. We value the creativity and dedication of every artist who contributes to our games, and we are committed to honoring their work. Thank you for bringing this to our attention."

This is not the first time Bungie has been accused of borrowing ideas from others. In October, the studio faced a lawsuit after a writer alleged the studio copied plot elements from his story and used them in Destiny 2’s 2017 storyline, The Red War. Bungie recently attempted to have the lawsuit dismissed, but a judge denied the request as the studio scrambled to produce evidence after having since "vaulted" the content so it’s no longer publicly accessible.

Just weeks before that lawsuit was filed, Bungie launched a separate investigation into how a NERF gun based on Destiny 2’s iconic Ace of Spades was copied nearly verbatim from fanart created in 2015, including every brushstroke, scratch, and smudge on the weapon.