Summary
Updated on June 07, 2025, at 12:31 am: Bungie has responded via the MarathonDevTeam Twitter handle. “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.
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.” The statement continues in the thread.
Original story follows:
MarathonisPlayStation’slatest live service project, and people recently got the chance to try the game out for the first time last month.The reception was pretty mixed, and that’s putting it mildly,with people complaining about the game’s aim assist, among other things. It’s not been a particularly positive rollout so far, and now Bungie has another headache to deal with.
Earlier today,an artist by the name of 4nt1r34l on Twitterclaimed that the Marathon closed alpha test’s environments featured multiple examples of assets from posters she designed back in 2017. She also claims that Bungie has used these assets for Marathon “without pay or attribution”, essentially suggesting that the studio has stolen them.
Marathon Has Been Accused Of Using Stolen Assets For Its Environments
She shares some examples of her work being stolen alongside the tweets, and it’s easy to see which assets she’s referring to. One of the more blatant is the “ALPEH Dark-space haulage logisitcs” sign that can be seen in multiple different locations across Marathon, while Bungie also appears to have lifted several other designs, and even 4nt1r34l’s own logo.
She goes on to explain that she doesn’t have the “resources nor the energy to spare to pursue this legally”, so it’s likely that Bungie will only respond if the backlash is strong enough for it to jeopardize Marathon’s success.
As for Bungie itself, the studio is yet to respond. We have no idea whether it has intentionally used these designs without paying the artist, or if this is an example of an independent contractor lifting the designs for a commission - and that Bungie simply didn’t do its due diligence - though it is worth pointing out that Marathon art director Joseph Cross follows 4nt1r34l on Twitter.
It’s also worth mentioning that Bungie has a spotty history when it comes to plagiarism accusations, as it has been deemed to have lifted designs from fans for various projects. Back in 2021, it was accused ofusing fan artwork for a Witch Queen expansion trailer, and againin 2023 for a cutscene in Season of the Deep. Most recently, anAce of Spades Nerf gun collaboration was accused of using a nine-year-old piece of fan artfor its design.
In the latter example, Bungie did investigate and promised to compensate the artist in question, so hopefully, it will do the same this time around too. Either way, it’s a controversy that Marathon can’t really afford right now, given how shaky PlayStation live-service games have performed in the past.
