Marathon Art Controversy Resolved As Artist Reaches Agreement With Bungie And Sony

Artist Antireal says the Marathon art dispute has been resolved with Bungie and Sony, closing months of controversy around stolen in-game assets.

There’s a new update on the Marathon art theft controversy. Earlier this year, independent artist Fern “Antireal” Hook accused Bungie of using her 2017 graphic design work in Marathon’s closed alpha build without permission, credit, or payment.

Side-by-side comparisons showed in-game decals and signage that looked identical to her posters, which kicked off a serious debate about how the studio handles outside art. Bungie eventually responded through the Marathon dev team account and admitted that her work had been used without permission.

Marathon Alpha Draws New Plagiarism Accusations Against Bungie as Artist Says Game Is "Plastered" with Stolen Art — Image: 4nt1r34l | Bungie

Related: Bungie’s Marathon Casts Red Dead Redemption 2’s Arthur Morgan Voice Actor Roger Clark

The studio said a former employee added her designs to a texture sheet that later made its way into the alpha build. Franchise art director Joseph Cross followed up with a direct apology on stream, calling it inexcusable and promising a full review of Marathon’s art assets along with plans to “do right by the artist.”

Now there is a new update from the artist herself.

Marathon art dispute now resolved, according to Antireal

In a new post on X (Twitter), Antireal told followers that the Marathon art issue has been settled. The message comes directly from her official account and is the first clear sign that talks between her, Bungie, and Sony Interactive Entertainment have reached some kind of agreement.

This means the dispute that started with those viral comparison posts is now closed from her side. We still do not know what the resolution looks like behind the scenes. It could be payment, credit, future work, or something else entirely, but none of that has been shared publicly. What we do know is that the person whose work was at the center of this controversy says she is satisfied with the outcome.

“The Marathon art issue has been resolved with Bungie and Sony Interactive Entertainment to my satisfaction,” the X post reads.

Marathon's Art Style Is Inspired By Mirror's Edge, Ghost in the Shell, says Art Director — Image: Bungie

Related: Alberto Mielgo defends the Marathon cinematic as “not AI,” denies his team touched Bungie’s plagiarized material and calls the art theft incident a genuine mistake that was “blown out of proportion”

For now, that is all she has revealed. Antireal has not gone into any extra detail about the exact terms of the agreement or what Bungie and Sony have offered.

As for the game itself, The Game Post has previously reported exclusively that Bungie is working on a new Marathon ViDoc that is planned to be released relatively soon. Bungie has also announced a new playtest for later this month, giving players another chance to go hands-on with an updated build.