Bungie Acknowledges Unauthorized Use of Artist Decals in Marathon, Calls It Oversight
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- Bungie has acknowledged that there were instances of unauthorized use of artist decals in Marathon.
- The developers revealed that this was done by a “former Bungie artist.”
- Bungie has reached out to the original artist to discuss the issue.
Marathon developers at Bungie have acknowledged the unauthorized use of artist decals in the game and confirmed that this was due to a “former Bungie artist” who included them in the texture sheet, which was then used in-game. The developers are now reviewing how this could have happened.
Bungie mentioned that it has already reached out to N2, the artist whose work was found in-game, to discuss the issue. The devs added that they are “committed to do right by the artist.”
“To prevent similar issues in the future, we are conducting a thorough review of our in-game assets, specifically those done by the former Bungie artist, and implementing stricter checks to document all artist contributions,” the post read.
On May 15, artist N2 posted on X, calling the attention of Bungie and Marathon art director Joseph Cross. In the post, N2 mentioned that they found some assets in Marathon’s alpha that came from a poster they designed in 2017.
“In 10 years i have never made a consistent income from this work and i am tired of designers from huge companies moodboarding and parasitising my designs while i struggle to make a living,” the artist said in a reply to their initial post. N2’s portfolio can be found here.
Marathon is an extraction shooter currently being developed by Bungie. The game recently had its alpha test, which was where the artist spotted their work. While N2 mentioned that they do not have the “resources nor the energy to spare to pursue this legally,” Bungie seems to be on the right track by reaching out to the artist and doing a review of Marathon’s in-game assets.
This was not the first time something similar happened at Bungie. In 2023, an artist found that their art was heavily referenced in Destiny 2’s trailers. The developers announced on X that they’ve reached out to the artist and compensated them, putting the blame on an “external vendor” who thought the art was official Bungie art and used it as a reference.
A similar situation occurred in 2024, where another artist found that Bungie lifted from a commission they had done in 2015. According to them, the same brush strokes and scratches can be seen on Bungie’s design of the Nerf LMTD Ace of Spades Blaster.
