Bungie Faces Repeated Accusations of Using Artists' Work Without Attribution
Bungie acknowledges allegations of art theft once more, pledging a comprehensive examination of Marathon property assets.
It's another drama for Bungie, the developers behind the Destiny franchise, as they're once again standing accused of taking artistic designs without permission and credit. This time around, visual artist Antireal claims that Bungie has ripped off designs from their 2017 poster series for Marathon's environment art.
In a post on X today, Antireal said that Bungie is guilty of borrowing design elements directly from their poster designs for Marathon's environment art. "Bungie's not obligated to hire me for their games, but clearly my work was good enough to pilfer for ideas," Antireal stated in a series of follow-up tweets.
As proof, Antireal shared screenshots comparing designs and logos from the in-game footage of the Marathon alpha playtest with Antireal's 2017 poster designs posted on Twitter. Comparing the original designs, which can still be found on X, there are some striking similarities. For instance, a design element from one of Antireal's posters, featuring the word "Aleph" in all caps paired with the text "Dark-space haulage logistics," appears unaltered on a series of Marathon structures. A sequence of logos observed on in-game tarps and sheeting appears to be taken straight from another Antireal poster design.
Upon examination, PC Gamer confirmed that the double-arrow logo from a third Antireal design was visible during gameplay footage of the Marathon alpha available on YouTube. The artists behind the Marathon series seem to have capitalized on designs that were already impressive enough to draw inspiration from.
Understandably, Antireal hasn't been able to pursue legal action against Bungie due to lack of resources. "I've spent 10 years making a living from this work, only to have designers from huge companies moodboarding and parasitizing my designs," Antireal complained.
It's important to notice that this isn't the first time Bungie has been accused of using indie artists' work without permission. In 2021, Bungie admitted fan art was utilized while designing a Nerf gun for Destiny 2, and promised to compensate and credit the artist. The following year, Bungie had a similar admission when a Destiny 2 cutscene featured near-identical similarities to another artist's work. And in 2023, Bungie acknowledged that fan art of Xivu Arath was "accidentally used" in a trailer for the Witch Queen expansion.
The artwork comparisons, coupled with Bungie's track record, suggest a troubling pattern of using independent artists' work without appropriate credit or compensation.
In reply to Antireal's accusations, another X user pointed out that Marathon franchise art director Joseph Cross follows Antireal on the platform. Antireal, however, stated that Cross and other Bungie artists have followed her for a few years without any form of communication.
In response to the allegations, the @MarathonDevTeam account on X released a statement stating, "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 doing right by the artist."
According to Bungie's statement, the company maintains a policy of seeking permission from artists before using their work, and the issue can be traced back to a former Bungie artist. Bungie aims to conduct a thorough review of their in-game assets and implement stricter checks to prevent similar incidents in the future.
It seems like a single occurrence might be an innocent oversight, but the near-annual accusations of unattributed art use hint at a deeper issue within Bungie's art department. Despite Bungie's attempts to rectify these incidents and compensate the affected artists, it becomes increasingly difficult to chalk them up as honest mistakes when it happens repeatedly.
By Lincoln Carpenter, News Writer
- Editor's Note: Bungie has a history of using independent artists' work without proper attribution or compensation. This behavior is troubling, considering the company's position in the gaming industry. Bungie's failure to fully credit and compensate the artists suggests a disregard for the value of their work and undermines building a positive reputation in the gaming community. Despite various incidents and subsequent apologies, it appears that Bungie must address systemic issues within their art department to prevent such accusations from arising in the future.
- Bungie's continuous use of independent artists' work without attribution raises questions about their respect for creators, especially in light of their position within the gaming industry.
- The seasonal occurrence of accusations against Bungie for failing to credit and compensate artists indicates systemic issues within their art department that need addressing.
- The Marathon franchise art director, Joseph Cross, follows visual artist Antireal, but there has been no communication between them.
- Technology advancements in gaming, such as the incorporation of gadgets like Nerf guns, necessitate extra vigilance to ensure original artwork created by independent artists is properly credited and compensated.
