Bungie Pulls Marathon Gameplay Showcase Amid Art Plagiarism Investigation

Bungie has suspended all Marathon gameplay showcase during its latest live stream as the company conducts a comprehensive review of artwork plagiarism that was allegedly committed by a former staff member.

The controversy began when Scottish artist Fern Hook, known online as “4nt1r34l,” accused the developer of incorporating assets from her previous work into the alpha version of Marathon without permission. Bungie has since acknowledged these claims of plagiarism are accurate, attributing the issue to a former employee who allegedly incorporated Hook’s artwork in Marathon without proper authorization.

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the Marathon alpha released recently and its environments are covered with assets lifted from poster designs i made in 2017.@Bungie @josephacross pic.twitter.com/0Csbo48Jgb

— N² (@4nt1r34l) May 15, 2025
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Marathon Art Director Joseph Cross addressed the situation directly, explaining that Bungie is implementing a thorough review process to identify and remove any inappropriately sourced art from the game.

“It came to our attention that an artist who worked on Marathon in the early stages of pre-production took a number of graphic elements from a graphic designer without permission or acknowledgement, and then placed them on a decal sheet that was then checked in in 2020,” Cross stated. Offering a personal apology to Hook, Cross acknowledged, “I know how unfair this feels, and we’re doing everything we can to make this right. Her work is fantastic, and we clearly share a mutual appreciation for a specific genre of graphic design.”

In his statement, Cross emphasized that Marathon’s visual style draws from various influences including “modernism, 2000s style vector art, cyberpunk, and of course the original Marathon trilogy.” He noted that hundreds of artists have contributed to the project over the years, and clarified that external partners who worked on branding or visual design were not involved in the plagiarism incident.

Marathon is scheduled for release on September 23 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, and PC. While Bungie has confirmed it will be a “premium product,” the company has not yet announced pricing details.