After visual and musical artist Antireal (aka 4nt1r34l) accused Bungie of using her artwork without credit in Marathon’s recently released alpha build, the studio has admitted to wrongdoing.
On Thursday, Antireal said on X, “The Marathon alpha released recently and its environments are covered with assets lifted from poster designs I made in 2017.” And she came with receipts, showing triangular V graphics, a series of boxed icons, and a script reading “ALEPH” in Marathon’s alpha that mirrors her designs. On top of that, she connected a graphic sheet from Marathon’s press kit to more of her work from 2017.
In response, Bungie admitted fault in the situation, posting on X, “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.”
Bungie further stated, “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. We value the creativity and dedication of all artists who contribute to our games, and we are committed to doing right by them.” The company also noted that it has “reached out to 4nt1r34l to discuss this issue and are committed to do right by the artist.”
Antireal’s support community took doing right by the artist into their own hands by donating through her Ko-fi page. She posted, “Completely overwhelmed by the response to this — thank you so much for the support and especially to those who have donated, it helps enormously.”