Federal Judge Denies Bungie’s Attempt to Dismiss Destiny 2 Lawsuit

Federal judge Susie Morgan denied Bungie’s attempt to dismiss a case that was initially filed by Matthew Kelsey Martineau, who alleges Bungie copied his intellectual property in Destiny 2. He specifically notes that the Red Legion faction were supposedly his creations, claiming that Bungie took from his intellectual property off of WordPress years before the game’s release. 

According to the official court document, Martineau’s imaginative work features “the notorious Red Legion, a powerful military force, that is embroiled in an unending cycle of warfare throughout these locations including the Land of the Crimson Sky, a territory seized by the Red Legion.”

This Red Legion military force is featured in Bungie’s Destiny 2 as well. They share the same name alongside parallels in lore, and character design, thereby sparking Martineau’s initial lawsuit. 

Bungie’s attempt to dismiss the case involved sourcing YouTube videos with hours of footage and screenshots; the court found this attempt for dismissal as lacking proper evidence. 

“Bungie cannot feasibly provide the Court with the original Destiny 2 game as it existed in 2017, including the accused ‘Red War’ and ‘Curse of Osiris’ campaigns, in any operable or reviewable form,” the official legal document reads. 

The original Destiny 2 campaigns in question can no longer be played in their original form – an unavoidable circumstance for a live-service title. In light of this, the fan-made YouTube videos were deemed not enough to support complete dismissal of the case.

“There has not been sufficient time for discovery, and the attachments are admittedly of third-party origination. Their authenticity has not been established,” states the legal document.

Other reasons for Judge Morgan’s rejection of the dismissal stem from the complicated nature of the case. The two compared products exist via different mediums, making direct side by side analysis difficult to gauge.