A Destiny 2 fan whose artwork was reportedly used in-game has yet to receive compensation, despite Bungie’s promise to rectify the situation over a year ago.
In 2023, X/Twitter user Julian Faylona expressed that the studio had “taken inspiration” from their fan art for a lore-rich cutscene featuring Destiny’s antagonist, The Witness. “Certainly took me by surprise when I watched the cutscene,” they remarked.
After the post gained traction, Bungie acknowledged the striking similarities, explaining that the oversight was due to “an external vendor” who “mistakenly” utilized Faylona’s original art, believing it to be “official Bungie art.”
“We have reached out to the artist to apologize for the mix-up and to credit and compensate them for their awesome work,” the developer stated.
We’ve discovered that an external vendor that helped to create this cutscene mistakenly used this art as a reference, assuming it was official Bungie art. We have reached out to the artist to apologize for the mix-up and to credit and compensate them for their awesome work. https://t.co/Sqkg5tRHKj
— Destiny 2 Team (@Destiny2Team) June 22, 2023
More than a year later, Faylona expressed disappointment in not having received the promised compensation, stating they hadn’t “heard a word since.” Bungie’s principal community manager, Cozmo, later reached out to apologize again. “Hey sorry this got missed, I shot you an email. Hit me back there or DM here, and we will track this down for you,” he responded.
Hey sorry this got missed, I shot you an email. Hit me back there or DM here, and we will track this down for you.
— Cozmo (@Cozmo23) September 14, 2024
Additionally, this situation coincides with claims from another artist alleging that their artwork inspired by Destiny 2’s Ace of Spades Exotic hand cannon was used in a design for an official NERF gun.
Bungie announced on September 11 that they were investigating the matter both internally and with their partners. By September 13, they updated that they were “currently in contact with the artist” to ensure proper compensation and credit for their “incredible artwork.”
We’ve investigated this with our partner NERF. We are currently in contact with the artist to make sure they are compensated and credited for their incredible artwork. https://t.co/iGUbfdlPSi
— Destiny 2 Team (@Destiny2Team) September 13, 2024
The third installment of Destiny 2’s Episode: Echoes launched on August 27, bringing a new Exotic mission and loot opportunities. Following the inclusion of two additional Episodes, Revenant and Heresy, Bungie plans to innovate their content strategy with Frontiers set to roll out in the latter half of 2025.
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