Bungie Initiates Internal Probe Amid Art Theft Allegations

Alright, imagine this: I’m sipping my third coffee of the morning (probably a mistake, I get jittery), and scrolling through Discord when—bam! This post from Bungie pops up. So get this, they’re saying they kinda, sorta nabbed some art for their game Marathon. Yeah, you read that right. Funny how these things happen, huh? Like, who thought no one would notice?

I’m trying to make sense of their whole spiel about doing a “thorough review” of their art. Hopefully, it’s more than just peeking behind the curtains and finding a pile of someone else’s stuff. But wait, let me backtrack a bit. An artist named Fern—who goes by “4nt1r34l” online, which sounds like something out of a sci-fi novel—actually called them out on Twitter. She shared these side-by-side shots showing her poster designs from 2017 and the ones Bungie used. Yikes!

“I mean, sure,” Fern wrote (and I’m paraphrasing, okay?), “Bungie isn’t obliged to get me on board when their whole aesthetic seems like it’s ripped from my playbook. But turns out, my work’s good enough for them to swipe like loose change under a couch cushion.” That stings a bit, but also—ouch—so true.

Meanwhile, Bungie, a bit red-faced, confirmed that whoever was behind the swiping doesn’t work there anymore. I imagine the vibes at Bungie HQ were awkwardly silent after that. They said some nonchalant thing about how these decals made it into a texture sheet, like, oops? How’d that slip through the cracks?

Anyway—or wait, let’s circle back. Bungie says they’re reaching out to Fern to make amends, which I hope doesn’t just mean “Here’s a gift card for your troubles.” It better be something solid. They’re emphasizing policy and saying they stick to asking permission before using art. Love that energy, but maybe check that it actually happens, right?

Oh, right, they’re planning to do some heavy-duty asset review now, especially stuff from the sneaky ex-artist. Stricter checks, all that jazz. It’s like when you lose your keys and suddenly vow to always hang them up. Let’s see if they keep that up.

Kinda makes you think about how crazy creative processes get tangled, though. Like, someone somewhere should have flagged this earlier. Anyway, hope Bungie pulls through and Fern gets proper recognition. I mean, all eyes are on them now.