Okay, so here’s this wild story I stumbled upon—halfway through my coffee, no less. Something about this top-notch studio, Bungie. Yeah, those folks who make the games, right? Well, get this: an artist named Antireal, whose handle’s something like @4nt1r34l (how do people even remember these names?), called them out. Apparently, she’s spotted her 2017 artwork — mind you, I have no clue how one remembers stuff from six years ago — in the new Marathon alpha build. I mean, imagine scrolling through a game, and bam! Your own designs just chillin’ there.
So, on Thursday, which just feels like a Thursday kind of news day, she blasted them on X. Kinda gutsy, right? She’s all, “Hey, my poster-like things are in your game!” And honestly, she’s got proof. There are triangular whatevers, boxed icon-y things, and some script that reads ‘ALEPH’ appearing all fancy in the game, just like her old stuff. Not just that, she matched a whole graphic sheet from their press kit back to her creations. Talk about eagle eyes!
Fast forward, Bungie actually admitted it. Yep, no beating around the bush. Said something on X about how they checked into it and, sure enough, a former artist scooped up her work and dropped it into the game textures. Like, surprise! Someone’s been a bit too inspired, it seems.
They went on about doing a detailed review now, trying to make sure no other sneaky art grabs got by them, especially those tied to this ex-artist of theirs. They’re all about valuing creativity, giving their badge of honor to artists, and they’ve reached out to Antireal to make things right. Even if you’re not into gamedev dramas, this is pretty juicy stuff.
Oh, and Antireal’s pals decided to throw in their support, one coffee at a time, just like folks do these days. Donations started flowing into her Ko-fi page. The artist seemed super touched and went, “Wow, thanks, everyone!” Pretty heartwarming, especially when you think about the internet and how it can be… well, the internet.
And that’s the tea, or coffee, or whatever. It all still feels a bit like an unexpected plot twist, huh?
