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On May 15, 2025, Scottish artist Fern “Antireal” Hook publicly accused Bungie of using her 2017 poster designs in Marathon without permission.
Hook provided side-by-side comparisons showing that Bungie had directly lifted elements from her work, including visual style, iconography, and fictional company names.
the Marathon alpha released recently and its environments are covered with assets lifted from poster designs i made in 2017.
@bungie.net @marathonthegame.bungie.net
Bungie’s response
Bungie acknowledged the issue, stating that a former artist had included Hook’s designs in a texture sheet used in Marathon’s alpha build.
The studio claimed that its current art team was unaware of the unauthorized use and promised to:
- Audit all in-game assets to remove improperly sourced content.
- Compensate Hook for the unauthorized use of her work.
- Implement stricter checks to prevent similar incidents in the future.
However, Bungie’s attempt to shift blame to a former employee has sparked further outrage, with fans demanding full accountability.
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.— Marathon Team (@marathonteam.bungie.net) 15 de mayo de 2025, 21:21
A pattern of plagiarism?
This is not the first time Bungie has faced plagiarism accusations.
- In the past, Destiny 2 promotional materials included fan art without credit.
- Some artists have reported similar cases of uncredited work appearing in Bungie’s games.
The controversy has led to calls for legal action, with Hook considering whether Bungie’s offer is sufficient or if she should pursue a lawsuit.
Will Marathon be delayed?
Marathon is scheduled for release on September 23, 2025, but Bungie’s intensive review process could lead to delays.
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.
With Sony as Bungie’s parent company, negotiations may take place to resolve the issue without further damage to the studio’s reputation.
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