Bungie, the well-loved studio behind iconic games, recently ran into turbulence with their upcoming shooting game, Marathon. An artist, known as 4nt1r34l, took to social media platforms like X to highlight how the game incorporated her original poster designs from 2017 without permission. She expressed her frustration over repeating issues with big companies lifting her unique design language for their projects.
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
In a post, she shared, "Bungie didn’t have to offer me a job, but they definitely drew way too much from my designs without even a heads up!" Yet, when direct legal action seemed daunting for the artist, Bungie's response was quick and commendable. They acknowledged the slip-up, tracing the unauthorized use back to a former team member, and hurried to make amends with the artist.
This issue was unknown by our existing art team, and we are still reviewing how this oversight occurred.
— MarathonDevTeam (@MarathonDevTeam) May 16, 2025
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.
Bungie promises to tighten their processes by conducting a detailed review of in-game assets, assuring fans and creators that they respect creativity and originality. While no developer wants to face such hiccups, Bungie's commitment to transparency and corrective measures stands out.
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