Leading up to the release of their highly anticipated extraction shooter Marathon, Bungie has come under fire for allegedly plagiarizing art for the game. Examples of this alleged plagiarism were discovered in videos and screenshots of the game’s alpha build. Bungie has responded to these accusations, attributing the blame to a former artist and vowing to conduct a thorough review of in-game assets while implementing stricter checks on contributions moving forward.
Digital artist Antireal took to social media to showcase instances where their work was allegedly used without permission by Bungie, pointing out similarities between glyphs and sections of posters they created in 2017 and decals and textures in Marathon.
- Image credit: Antireal | Bungie
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- Image credit: Antireal | Bungie
In response to the allegations, Bungie’s @MarathonDevTeam account issued a statement on Twitter, acknowledging the unauthorized use of artist decals in Marathon and attributing it to a former Bungie artist. The statement emphasized Bungie’s commitment to rectifying the situation and ensuring proper credit and permissions for artists contributing to their games.
Bungie stated, “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.”
While plagiarism is a serious issue, drawing inspiration from existing art is a common practice in the industry. Art is constantly evolving and building upon previous works. Bungie’s Art Director has openly cited influences such as Mirror’s Edge and Ghost in the Shell for Marathon’s design.
This incident is not the first time Bungie has faced allegations of using unauthorized art. In the past, they used fan art in a Destiny 2 trailer and compensated an artist for their work featured in a Destiny 2 Nerf Blaster.
