As *Destiny 2* developer Bungie works to repair its public image following fresh allegations of artistic misconduct in its upcoming title *Marathon*, the gaming community remains on edge, questioning what comes next.
Last week, an independent artist, Fern Hook, accused Bungie of using their artwork without permission or credit. The studio swiftly launched an investigation and confirmed that a "former Bungie artist" was involved in the unauthorized use of Hook’s creative work. This revelation has sparked widespread concern among fans and industry observers alike.
In response, *Marathon* Game Director Joe Ziegler and Art Director Joe Cross hosted a notably awkward livestream over the weekend. No new game footage was shown, as the team explained they were “still scrubbing all of our assets” to ensure full respect for the ongoing situation. Fans were left with more questions than answers.
Since then, players have been digging into the identity of the unnamed "former artist," while others expressed disappointment, describing how the incident has made them feel "just hollow." Many are now asking whether *Marathon* can still succeed, and what failure would mean for Bungie's legacy.
"The game went from mixed/negative reception to PLAGIARISM\_WILL\_MAKE\_ME\_GOD, four months from launch in the eyes of the larger gaming community. If they don't delay it, it's 100% DOA," one player pointed out. "If the game does in fact die, we're talking over $100 million+ lost (probably a gross underestimate for a AAA game/studio). So yeah, really bad. Make no mistake, this is an existential struggle for Bungie at this point."
Another speculated, "I think it releases to a very lukewarm reception, similar to the Destiny expansion in July. It will last til January for active updates, put in maintenance mode til about summer 2026, then shut down with Bungie finally absorbed into Sony."
With the memory of Firewalk Studios' failed *Concord* launch still fresh, one commenter added, "We have no way of knowing, and after the Concord situation, I’m sure Sony isn’t taking any of this lightly." *Concord* was pulled from sale less than two weeks after release, reportedly selling only around 25,000 copies, with fewer than 700 concurrent players on Steam at peak—a number dwarfed even by the underwhelming performance of *Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League.*
Marathon - Gameplay Screenshots
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In another discussion thread, a fan reflected on a detailed breakdown of the controversy by Destiny lore YouTuber My Name is Byf, stating: "Watching the video just sort of reminded me that most of the people who will likely be affected if Bungie goes under are completely unrelated employees that don't deserve to be punished over this. I sort of feel ill about the whole situation now [...] I want to see them make an effort to [independent artist] Antireal. I want to see them take the steps towards making sure this never happens again. I want them to win back whatever they need to make this game special (Goodwill, a delay, anything). I WANT to see the Marathon ship in this artstyle, man."
Still, not everyone sees the issue as a dealbreaker.
"Ima be real I’m excited for this game. All this art drama is way overblown," said one user. "I think from what I’ve gathered in this game I fully anticipate the aliens to inevitably make their way into the game. Other than that I’d like the characters to be customizable but I anticipate any big changes like that to come later. Very hyped for Marathon."
Another chimed in, "I can't remember who exactly, but it was a famous musician talking about how he would never copyright others' music because all music eventually comes back to the same source. Basically the same principal every artist has been inspired by some other artists and so on and so forth. Of course, it's not cool to blatantly just copy/paste someone's work, but then again, even the concept of completely original art is debatable. Especially since there are recorded cases of people making basically the same art around the same time as someone else. So yeah, it's pretty overblown."
"For any Bungie employees checking in here, please remember that you have millions of fans that want to see Marathon succeed," added a hopeful voice. Amid rising internal tensions, *Forbes* recently reported that Bungie is experiencing "chaos," with employee morale reportedly in "free fall." *Marathon* is currently scheduled to launch for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S on September 23.
