Bungie caught stealing artwork again

Bungie has issued a statement on social media saying it is investigating how unauthorized artwork appeared in the closed alpha test of its PvPvE shooter Marathon. 

Earlier this week, Scottish artist Fern Hook posted on social media that her work had appeared in the Marathon alpha without her knowledge or permission. “Its environments are covered with assets lifted from poster designs I made in 2017,” Hook wrote on X. 

In an interview with the Washington Post, Fern says she was suspicious that her art may have been used without her permission when Bungie first revealed the game in 2023. In her thread, Fern posted side-by-side comparisons of her work and what appears in Marathon. She also made a post on X in 2024 saying that she hid a reference to the Ctrl + Alt + Del webcomic “Loss” in her designs. A year later, a player posted a screenshot from the game that includes a coded reference to the comic.

Bungie says that it was made aware of the issue and determined the art team did not know the artwork was stolen and that a former employee was responsible for adding the assets. The studio also said it reached out to Fern to discuss the matter and that it is, “committed to doing right by the artist.” 

This is not the first time an artist’s work has been used for a Bungie product without their permission. In 2024, Bungie agreed to compensate the artist Tofu Rabbit after she discovered that the design for a Destiny 2-themed Nerf Gun was ripped directly from her fanart. Bungie has also been accused of using other creators’ Destiny 2 fanart for references and cutscenes without permission.

Bungie says it’s reviewing its in-game assets especially those done by former employees to ensure this won’t happen again (or again, or again).