
You know what game studio you probably wouldn’t want to be working at this month? Bungie. The Destiny 2 developer is taking its deserved lumps after admitting to stealing art to use in its upcoming extraction shooter Marathon, and according to a new Forbes report, studio morale is in “free-fall.”
The report cites the low morale is caused by the art theft combined with negative testing feedback, huge marketing changes, the pressure of finishing by its September launch window, and concerns that Marathon might completely tank upon release.
“Marathon was originally pitched by higher-up ‘good old boy’ Bungie leadership, and as far back as five years ago, devs were telling them what would and wouldn’t work and were often ignored. Many have said previously that it needed to have some sort of PvE component,” Forbes says.
Last week, the wronged artist, Antireal, posted that “clearly [her] work was good enough to pillage for ideas and plaster all over their game without pay or attribution.” An internet furor ensued over the accusation and admission of guilt, and apparently Sony’s legal team is still wading through related assets in an “audit” messy enough that Bungie has stopped showing footage in its streaming. Oof.
Source: Forbes