The storm surrounding Bungie continues, this time sparked by accusations of using artwork without the creator’s permission in Marathon.
Scottish artist Fern Hook, known online as Antireal, discovered that several of her illustrations from 2017 had been used without authorisation in the alpha version of Bungie’s game. She shared evidence on social media, including screenshots from Marathon that revealed striking similarities between her earlier work and various in-game graphic elements, such as text and symbols.
Bungie has admitted to the mistake and explained that a former employee had incorporated the elements into the game without the current team’s knowledge. The studio has since reached out to Hook to discuss the matter and is now conducting a thorough audit of its assets to prevent similar incidents in the future. In an official statement, Bungie said:
“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 [the artist] to discuss this issue and are committed to do right by the artist. As a matter of policy, we do not use the work of artists without their permission.”
This isn’t the first time Bungie has landed in hot water over unauthorised use of artwork. The studio was previously caught using fan art in Destiny 2 without proper credit. Not exactly a good look.