Bungie Resolves Copyright Lawsuit Over Destiny 2 Red War

Bungie has successfully reached an out-of-court settlement with science fiction author Matthew Martineau, effectively concluding a protracted year-long copyright dispute. The controversy centered on claims surrounding Destiny 2’s original Red War campaign.

The legal saga began in October 2024 when Martineau filed a lawsuit against Bungie, alleging that the developer had appropriated vital concepts, character factions, and story arcs from his writings. These works had been published under his pseudonym, Caspar Cole, during 2013 and 2014. Notably, Martineau pointed to striking parallels with the Red Legion and certain elements that subsequently appeared in the expansion, Curse of Osiris.

Resolution of the Bungie vs. Martineau Case

Bungie refuted all allegations of copyright infringement, attempting to dismiss the case. However, a judge rejected this motion, emphasizing that the defendant could not rely on fan-produced YouTube content or wiki pages about the vaulted Red War content to argue its case. This decision allowed the lawsuit to continue through the court system.

Recent court documents, as highlighted by The Game Post, indicate that a settlement was agreed upon by both parties on November 12. A subsequent court order confirmed the case’s resolution and dismissed it without any associated costs.

The court’s order stated, “The court having been advised that all parties have firmly agreed upon a compromise in this matter; it is ordered that this action be and is hereby dismissed as to all parties, without costs and without prejudice to the right, upon good cause shown, within sixty days, to reopen the action if the settlement is not consummated.”

Destiny 2’s Red War campaign was removed from the game and “vaulted” in November 2020.

There exists a 60-day timeframe during which the court can reactivate the case if the settlement terms are not fully honored. However, the specifics of the agreement remain undisclosed, as confidentiality surrounds the settlement.

As for the future of the original Red War campaign within Destiny 2, the prospect of its return appears dim. Bungie acknowledged in February that the current iteration of Destiny 2 does not support the reintroduction of the Red War campaign, which had been removed and placed in the “vault” in late 2020.

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