The artist who alleged that Bungie used their work without permission for Marathon and later settled the matter with the developer is featured in the newly launched game's credits.
The name of the artist, Fern Hook AKA Antireal, can be seen in the game's credits, listed as a Visual Design Consultant, according to the game's credits posted on Reddit.
In May 2025, Antireal alleged that the Marathon alpha featured assets lifted from their own designs that were published in 2017. At the time, the artist said they didn't have the resources or the energy to pursue a legal case against Bungie. In response, Bungie said it "immediately investigated" the matter, going on to pin the blame on a former Bungie artist.
At the time, Bungie said it was committed to doing right by Antireal, and in early December 2025, Antireal announced that the issue had been resolved with Bungie and studio owner Sony "to my satisfaction." The terms were never disclosed, but many theorized that Antireal got paid.
In the wake of the art-theft claims, and in an effort to further refine the the gameplay experience, Bungie delayed Marathon indefinitely from its September 2025 release date. After more testing, Bungie later announced a March 5 release date for the game and a $40 price point.
Marathon is out now across PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S, and it reached more than 88,000 peak concurrent users on launch day. Player numbers have fallen since then, but that's not out of the ordinary.
Source
The name of the artist, Fern Hook AKA Antireal, can be seen in the game's credits, listed as a Visual Design Consultant, according to the game's credits posted on Reddit.
In May 2025, Antireal alleged that the Marathon alpha featured assets lifted from their own designs that were published in 2017. At the time, the artist said they didn't have the resources or the energy to pursue a legal case against Bungie. In response, Bungie said it "immediately investigated" the matter, going on to pin the blame on a former Bungie artist.
At the time, Bungie said it was committed to doing right by Antireal, and in early December 2025, Antireal announced that the issue had been resolved with Bungie and studio owner Sony "to my satisfaction." The terms were never disclosed, but many theorized that Antireal got paid.
In the wake of the art-theft claims, and in an effort to further refine the the gameplay experience, Bungie delayed Marathon indefinitely from its September 2025 release date. After more testing, Bungie later announced a March 5 release date for the game and a $40 price point.
Marathon is out now across PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S, and it reached more than 88,000 peak concurrent users on launch day. Player numbers have fallen since then, but that's not out of the ordinary.
Source