Destiny 2 “accidentally” uses an artist’s work without asking, now promises compensation

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A new cutscene in Destiny 2 reveals some old secrets. One scene, however, has amazed an artist because his work is featured in it. But he wasn’t even asked beforehand. Developer Bungie says: there was a mistake and they want to ensure fair payment.

Who is the artist?

  • Philippine Julian Faylona is known as an artist under the name ELEMENTJ21 and creates various works of art, some of which he exhibits on his website.
  • Faylona is a passionate gamer and likes to play Destiny 2. He often posts fan art on Twitter, i.e. his own works of art that are based on the game.
  • He also uploaded one of these artworks to Bungie’s library and now it has appeared in the game itself.

    • Where did Destiny 2 use it? You can currently unlock a new cutscene in Destiny 2 that reworks some events from the past. Among other things, open questions about Lightfall are explained there, an extension that has received a lot of criticism.

    Specifically, there is a picture that is strongly reminiscent of one of Faylona. A picture he posted in 2021 was only used with a few changes in an official artwork in the cutscene.

    We don’t want to give you a spoiler here about exactly what the cutscene is about. But you can read more about it in our special:

    Destiny 2 finally explains what failed Lightfall’s campaign in 3 minutes

    We include the cutscene here for you, but again with a spoiler warning. You can see the artwork at around minute 4:53:

    [Spoiler] Destiny 2: This cut scene from season 21 reveals what the traveler and the darkness are

    More videos

    Outside Worker Mixes Up Artwork, Bungie Responds

    Faylona herself played Destiny 2 and watched the cutscene. He himself writes that he was surprised to suddenly see his own work in the game.

    He shares his surprise on Twitter with a direct comparison of the two works:

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    Bungie itself has already commented on this and says that this is due to a misunderstanding by an external employee (via PC Gamer). A seller mistook the artwork for official artwork and used it for the cutscene.

    The studio now wants to contact the artist to clarify the situation and seek compensation.

    However, Faylona himself does not see the matter as narrowly as he writes in an answer to PC Gamer. The artist says: “I’m genuinely excited and happy that a work I created 2 years ago […] made it into a cutscene.”

    Nevertheless, some users have already pounced on Bungie and are now accusing the studio of stealing artworks from others without asking. In the community, however, there is already a pretty bad mood:

    Destiny 2 frustrates its players – more and more guardians want an “end forever”

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