As Destiny 2 developer Bungie scrambles to recover its reputation after yet another independent artist accused the studio of "lifting" their artwork in Marathon, the community around the developer is pondering the future.
Last week's accusation led to an "immediate investigation" and an admission from Bungie that a "former artist" had used Fern Hook's artwork without permission or credit. On Friday night, Marathon game director Joe Ziegler and art director Joe Cross issued a public apology during an awkward livestream. The stream notably lacked any Marathon art or footage as the team was "still scrubbing all of our assets to ensure we are being respectful of the situation."
Since then, players have been trying to identify the "former artist" involved, with some expressing feelings of disillusionment. Others are questioning whether Marathon can still be successful and what a potential failure would mean for Bungie.
"The game's perception shifted from mixed/negative to PLAGIARISM_WILL_MAKE_ME_GOD just four months before launch. If they don't delay it, it's 100% DOA," stated one player. "If the game flops, we're looking at over $100 million lost, which is likely a conservative estimate for a AAA game/studio. This is a critical moment for Bungie."
"I predict a lukewarm reception at launch, similar to the Destiny expansion in July," speculated another. "It will receive updates until January, then enter maintenance mode until summer 2026, before being shut down, with Bungie ultimately being absorbed by Sony."
"We can't predict the outcome, and after the Concord situation, Sony is undoubtedly taking this seriously," noted someone else. The "Concord situation" refers to Firewalk Studios' online hero shooter, which was pulled from sale less than two weeks after launch last year. Its launch was disastrous, with analysts telling IGN it likely sold as few as 25,000 units. It debuted with a mere 697 peak concurrent players on Steam, a figure that made the 12,786 players of Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League — labeled a disappointment by Warner Bros. Discovery boss David Zaslav — seem impressive.
Marathon - Gameplay Screenshots
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In another thread, a fan referenced Destiny lore YouTuber My Name is Byf's in-depth video summary of the situation, stating: "Watching the video reminded me that most of the people who will likely be affected if Bungie goes under are innocent employees who don't deserve this. I feel sick about it all. I want to see them make amends with [independent artist] Antireal. I want to see them implement measures to prevent this from happening again. I want them to regain whatever they need to make this game special—whether it's goodwill, a delay, or anything else. I WANT to see Marathon succeed with this art style."
However, not all potential players are deterred by the controversy.
"Ima be real, I'm excited for this game. All this art drama is overblown," said one. "From what I've seen, I'm expecting aliens to eventually appear in the game. I'd also like customizable characters, but I anticipate those changes will come later. I'm very hyped for Marathon."
"I can't remember who, but a famous musician once said he wouldn't copyright others' music because all music ultimately derives from the same source," responded another. "The principle is similar: every artist draws inspiration from others. Of course, copying someone's work outright isn't cool, but the concept of completely original art is debatable. There are even cases where people create similar art simultaneously. So yeah, it's pretty overblown."
"For any Bungie employees reading this, remember that you have millions of fans rooting for Marathon's success," added someone else. Forbes now reports that the studio is in "chaos," with morale at an all-time low. Marathon is scheduled to launch on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X and S on September 23.
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