Developer Bungie has acknowledged that certain assets in the forthcoming title, Marathon, were improperly sourced from another artist. In a message shared on its internal Discord channel, the company announced that it is undertaking a comprehensive review of its in-game art to ensure that no further instances of plagiarism exist.
Addressing the Allegations
This revelation follows a public outcry from artist Fern “4nt1r34l” Hook, who took to Twitter to present comparison images that highlighted the similarities between her original poster designs from 2017 and the assets featured in Marathon. Hook expressed her disappointment, stating, “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.”
In response to the allegations, Bungie confirmed that the individual responsible for the unauthorized use of the artwork is no longer with the company. The developer stated, “We immediately investigated a concern regarding unauthorized use of artist decals in Marathon and confirmed that a former Bungie artist included these in a texture sheet that was ultimately used in-game. This issue was unknown by our existing art team, and we are still reviewing how this oversight occurred.”
Commitment to Artists
Bungie emphasized its commitment to ethical practices in the creative process, asserting, “We take matters like this very seriously. We have reached out to 4nt1r34l to discuss this issue and are committed to doing right by the artist. As a matter of policy, we do not use the work of artists without their permission.”
To mitigate the risk of similar incidents in the future, Bungie is implementing stricter protocols to document all artist contributions and is conducting a thorough review of assets created by the former employee. The company concluded, “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.”
