Players Call on Bungie to Make ‘Destiny 3’ Instead of ‘Marathon’ Following Plagiarism Drama

Fans of Bungie are now calling on the developer to ditch Marathon following recent drama involving plagiarism. Angry players are demanding that the studio focus on Destiny 3 instead, arguing that there is no longer any interest in the extraction shooter.

Players Want Bungie to Make ‘Destiny 3’ Instead

Calling Bungie’s Marathon a dumpster fire might be the understatement of the year. The upcoming multiplayer title has stumbled from one controversy to the next since its reveal in early April. First, there was the divisive reaction to its story trailer; then came the overwhelmingly mixed feedback from participants in the game’s closed beta. In May, the project was rocked by plagiarism allegations. Independent artist Antireal provided proof that Marathon had used her artwork in the game without permission.

“Allegations” isn’t even the right word, as Bungie actually admitted to using her art without permission. The developer blamed the incident on a former employee who is no longer with the company. As if that wasn’t dire enough, a bombshell report from Forbes claims morale among Bungie employees is in “free-fall across all departments.” It appears the feeling is mutual among players as well, as Bungie fans are now calling on the developer to ditch Marathon altogether and focus on Destiny 3 instead.

Over on Twitter, “#Destiny 3” began trending worldwide as angry players voiced their demands. A user wrote, “Bungie needs to focus on the core playerbase and make Destiny 3 for next gen. But they invested in Marathon which nobody wants.” Another user exclaimed, “I’ve never seen a game get rejected by the general public like this. Especially from a studio like Bungie. It’s becoming increasingly clear that Bungie should’ve just made Destiny 3.” One comment simply vented, “Honestly, they should just swallow the losses and move development to Destiny 3.”

Will Bungie Delay ‘Marathon’?

Regardless of what fans want, it appears that Marathon is currently in a bit of a tailspin internally. Circling back to that Forbes report, the article claims that Bungie had canceled June marketing plans for the extraction shooter. While the report doesn’t confirm a delay, it does detail Sony’s legal team trying to sort through the plagiarism scandal ahead of the game’s upcoming launch in just a few months.

Despite being at the center of the drama, Bungie went live on Twitch on May 16 to address it. And as you might have predicted, the stream’s live chat was flooded with viewers spamming “plagiarism” over and over again. Marathon art director Joseph Cross reiterated that it was a former employee who had used the stolen graphics. According to the developer, the plagiarized work was placed on a “decal sheet” that slipped past the studio’s approval process.

Whether it’s realistic or not to expect Destiny 3 at this point, I think it’s clear that Marathon now has an air of negativity surrounding it. Reactions to the game were already lukewarm going into the beta. The plagiarism drama has now turned the gaming community downright hostile toward it. At this point, I think it would be best if the game just got delayed for another year. That way, it can be completely re-worked. Preferably with completely original art, and more modes and features.