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Published Mar 6, 2026, 1:34 PM EST
Artist Antireal has been credited by Bungie as a 'visual design consultant'
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Bungie's PvP extraction shooter Marathon is finally here after a troubled pre-release period, which included a delay after negative feedback during an alpha test. More damaging for Marathon was a plagiarism scandal that swept up Bungie last spring. That scandal has now been resolved, and the artist whose work Bungie stole has been properly credited in the game.
In May 2025, artist Fern "4nt1r34l" (Antireal) Hook accused Bungie of using her artwork as assets in Marathon without permission. After an investigation, Bungie admitted fault and confirmed "a former Bungie artist included these in a texture sheet that was ultimately used in-game." At the time, Bungie said it "reached out to 4nt1r34l to discuss this issue and are committed to do right by the artist."
Later that year, Hook shared on X that "The Marathon art issue has been resolved with Bungie and Sony Interactive Entertainment to my satisfaction." What the terms of that resolution were, and if Hook's public announcement of a resolution was a part of them, were not clear at the time.
Now that Marathon is out, players have spotted Hook in the game's credits (via VGC). The artist is credited as a visual design consultant in the freelance section of Marathon's credits. Hook has not acknowledged the game credit on her X or Bluesky accounts as she hasn't posted about Marathon since that December tweet. (She did, however, point out that a third-party accessories company has seemingly lifted her designs for an Xbox controller. Hook can't catch a break!)
Marathon is out now on PlayStation 5, Windows PC, and Xbox Series X. With it being a multiplayer game, full critic reviews aren't widespread yet, but there have been plenty of reactions online to the full game and the server slam from the prior week. It seems very much like a "love it or hate it" type of game, with Polygon's early impressions calling Marathon "one of the most divisive games in a while" and saying it's "unlike any game we've seen before, and should be treated as such." At least the Marathon controller seems pretty cool!
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