Strange things happen in Destiny 2. There have been several cases where content created by fans years ago has found its way into the shooter. And even when Bungie tries to handle it well and make adjustments, it doesn’t always work.
This is the current case:
For the 10th anniversary of Destiny 2, Bungie created a “Nerf gun,” a toy revolver that looked like Cayde’s iconic weapon, the Ace of Spades.
But it emerged that a fan artist named Tofu_Rabbit had already created a commissioned work in 2015, which now apparently served as the template for the commercial Nerf blaster that will be launched in 2024. But this plagiarism happened without the artist’s knowledge or consent.
The case quickly went viral and people demanded a statement from Bungie.
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How was this solved? Bungie actually relented and announced that they would investigate the case. Ultimately, they decided to acknowledge the artist’s claim and “compensate him.”
The fan artist thanks Bungie for being so professional and kind. He is very grateful to everyone who stood up for his rights (via x).
Fan artist waited 1 year for the promised compensation
And this has happened before? Yes, in the course of the current case, a similar case came up again. Back in 2023, the artist Julian Faylon had come forward, whose art had apparently found its way into a cutscene in Destiny 2 when it came to the witness.
Bungie had also assured her that they would look into the case. But nothing had happened in a year.
Only in the course of the new case did a community manager contact the artist and promise to speed up the process.
The artist told PCGamer that Bungie has apologized for the long wait and that they are working on providing her with compensation.
For the artist, it is a great honor that her work even appears in her favorite game. And even the long wait has not changed her sympathy for Destiny and Bungie. Unfortunately, in the creative industry, things like copyright are often not taken seriously and are neglected.
In 2023, Bungie had already shown a bad hand when they awarded the best fan art and thereby rewarded an AI.
“Creative shortcut”
This is what’s behind it: The matter is somewhat embarrassing for Bungie. Apparently artists, probably freelancers that they hire and pay themselves or whose work they buy, like to take a creative shortcut and use fan art from the internet and pass it off as their own work.
But in a game like Destiny, where people look closely, something like this is noticeable. Bungie can be accused of not looking closely enough at the quality assurance of purchased work. There was already real trouble in 2017 when Bungie made a serious mistake with purchased art: How could a racist hate symbol end up in Destiny 2?