“Resolved to my satisfaction”: Marathon art theft scandal finally resolved with Bungie and Sony after months of controversy

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Artist @4nt1r34l, also known as Fern Hook, noticed her artwork was used in Bungie’s new game, Marathon, without her permission. In May 2025, she publicly called out Bungie on X (formerly Twitter), pointing out clear similarities – and in some cases, exact copies – of her designs appearing in the game.

The situation quickly became a major problem, largely because people were already playing the game and didn’t like what they saw. The discovery of stolen artwork put even more stress on the developers and intensified the existing criticism of the game.

Once the issue became widely known, Bungie apologized to the artist. Joseph Cross, the art director, explained in a statement that the assets had been used incorrectly due to a mistake made early in the game’s development.

The dispute is over, but Marathon still faces an uphill battle

It’s good news for @4nt1r34l – the issue has been resolved. People have reacted positively to her post, with many sharing images of money suggesting she received a fair settlement for the unauthorized use of her work. However, it’s important to remember this is just an assumption.

Neither Bungie nor Sony has responded to questions about the situation since it was made public, and the details of their agreement are probably going to stay confidential.

I’m happy to announce that the issues surrounding the Marathon art release have been fully resolved with both Bungie and Sony Interactive Entertainment. This resolution was reached on December 2, 2025.

It’s good to know she was paid for her work, and Bungie’s effort to make things right with her, even with everything else going on at the company, was a positive sign.

Work on the game Marathon is still ongoing. It was pushed back after some controversy, and is now aiming for a release by March 2026, later than its initial target of September 2025.

Despite this, players aren’t very enthusiastic, and the success of games like ARC Raiders demonstrates how popular extraction shooters can be when executed well. It will be challenging for Marathon to gain traction with a project already receiving negative feedback, and even harder to stay competitive in the fast-moving world of gaming.

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2025-12-04 15:40