Artist Fern Hook, known online as Antireal, says the dispute over copied assets in Bungie’s Marathon has been resolved with Bungie and Sony Interactive Entertainment. Hook posted on X on December 2 that the matter has been settled to her satisfaction and linked the announcement to her account.
The Marathon art issue has been resolved with Bungie and Sony Interactive Entertainment to my satisfaction.
— N² (@4nt1r34l) December 2, 2025
The controversy began in May after Hook showed that multiple Marathon environments used assets that matched poster designs she made in 2017. The claim surfaced alongside early playtests and leaked footage that gave a long look at Marathon’s progression since Sony paused aspects of the project earlier this year. Bungie acknowledged the problem and said it had reached out to Antireal and followed up to make things right. Franchise art director Joe Cross traced the issue to a decal sheet created in early pre-production by an artist who used Hook’s designs without permission or credit.
Hook has been vocal about the toll such disputes take on independent artists. In May she said she did not have the resources or energy to pursue legal action and detailed how often larger companies opt to pay rather than engage directly with designers. The exact terms of the resolution have not been made public. Given past outcomes in comparable cases, industry watchers expect a financial settlement and a crediting fix, but Hook’s public statement is the clearest confirmation so far that the parties reached an agreement.
Marathon remains under active testing. Bungie has run additional playtests and scrubbed assets between sessions as it prepares the game for wider evaluation. Sony has also been publicly involved in the project during a period of corporate scrutiny over Bungie’s performance since the acquisition.
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Marathon
Developed by Bungie
A PvP-focused extraction shooter set on the mysterious planet of Tau Ceti IV, Marathon will see players inhabit the bodies of Runners, cybernetic mercenaries who have been designed to survive the planet’s harsh environments and explore the lost colony that once inhabited Tau Ceti’s surface. Players will engage solo or in crews of three, searching for mysterious alien artifacts, as well as for valuable loot and new weapons and gear that they can add to their collection.
- Genre: Shooter
- Platforms: Xbox Series X|S, PC (Microsoft Windows), PlayStation 5
- Modes: Multiplayer, Battle Royale
- Publisher: Bungie
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Age Rating:
GRAC 15+
