Developing blockbuster games today involves thousands of people. While this scale can streamline the development process, a downside is the increased possibility of an error by one team member going unnoticed until it’s too late. Bungie recently found itself facing just such a situation.
In the middle of last week, independent artist Antireal claimed that the renowned studio had used her work without permission and copied several elements from it during the production of the multiplayer shooter Marathon. As evidence, she shared footage from the game’s alpha testing and compared it to her own creations. Beyond general similarities, even tiny details appeared in the game, including the Internet meme “Loss,” which was hidden within one of the drawings.
Users examined the comparisons and agreed with Antireal – the plagiarism seemed immediately obvious. Furthermore, some noted that several Bungie employees, including Joseph Cross, the art director for the sci-fi action game, were among the artist’s followers online.
The artist stated that she did not want to pursue legal action, citing only the significant financial costs involved. In response, the sympathetic online community began donating money to support her. Representatives for Bungie quickly admitted fault, though not on their main account on X (formerly Twitter) or the official Marathon account. The team claimed they were unaware of the theft and stated they would conduct a thorough review of game assets. Gamers criticized the studio, suggesting they deliberately avoided drawing attention to the incident, arguing that otherwise the announcement would have been made via the Marathon account.
A few days later, during the PlayMA broadcast, Cross himself commented on the situation. According to him, Antireal’s work was “brought into” Marathon by one of the artists back in 2020, and that individual is no longer with Bungie. He added that the team had already begun discussing various compensation options with Antireal and promised to remove all stolen elements from the shooter.
Cross shared a personal apology:
“I want to personally apologize to Antireal, whose work was used in this case. I understand how unfair this is, and we are doing everything we can to restore justice and make amends to her. Her work is stunning and it’s clear that we share a similar aesthetic for a certain direction in graphic design – it’s inspiring. I’m pleased that this style has become part of Marathon’s overall visual language. Thank you for listening and for your patience.”
The art director also mentioned that due to this public relations issue, Bungie would postpone further showings of the game indefinitely. However, at that time, there was no talk of delaying the game’s release, which was still scheduled for September 23, 2025.