(Image credit: Bungie)
Bungie recently embarked on a series of “PlayMA” developer streams for the highly-anticipated Marathon, responding to queries from fans while engaging with the game. However, the tone of their latest session shifted significantly after the discovery that artwork in the game’s alpha stage was inaccurately attributed, having been taken from indie artist Antireal without compensation.
“Our show’s a little bit different today,” explained game director Joe Ziegler at the start. “We had planned to showcase much more material, but due to reasons we’ll discuss shortly, we’ve decided against it.”
Consequently, the developers opted to withhold any gameplay footage during the session. “We had numerous pieces we wanted to unveil today, but chose to hold back while we thoroughly review all assets to maintain respect for the current situation,” Ziegler elaborated.
Although much of the stream focused on game discussions, the session began with franchise art director Joe Cross issuing a formal statement concerning the art. “It was brought to our notice that a contributor involved with Marathon’s early pre-production phases had incorporated graphic elements from a designer without acknowledgment, integrating them into a decal sheet that was checked in during 2020,” Cross revealed.
“These elements included icons and text components, which inadvertently appeared in our alpha version. There is no justification for this oversight, and we are committed to refining our review processes to prevent such occurrences in the future with Marathon or Bungie projects,” he assured.
Cross mentioned that Bungie has “contacted Antireal, the artist affected, and is ensuring compliance with the appropriate actions to rectify this.” Specific details of Bungie’s reparative actions remain undisclosed.
Offering a personal apology, Cross stated, “I wish to extend my personal apology to Antireal, whose work was involved. I understand the imbalance this presents, and we’re dedicated to correcting this with her. Her artistry is remarkable, and it reflects a shared interest in a particular graphic design genre. It’s invigorating to incorporate that into our design ethos. Thank you for your attention and patience.”
Though only five months remain until launch, Marathon‘s development team has been elusive on pricing conversations. Still, Bungie assures fans that “it’s definitely going to be a conversation.”