Bungie Quietly Settles Lawsuit Over Destiny 2 Story Plagiarism Claims

Bungie has settled a copyright lawsuit with writer Matthew Martineau, ending months of legal wrangling over allegations that major elements of Destiny 2‘s story were lifted from his unpublished work. The terms of the settlement aren’t public, but both sides have agreed to drop their claims, effectively closing the book on a high-profile case that nearly went to trial.

Martineau accused Bungie of using his ideas in Destiny 2’s core plot, the Red War campaign, as well as in the Curse of Osiris expansion. He claimed that storylines and concepts he posted online appeared, sometimes in close detail, in the finished game. When Bungie tried to have the lawsuit tossed out in May, a federal judge shut the door on that move. The court found that Bungie hadn’t provided enough evidence to justify an outright dismissal.

Destiny 2’s Missing Evidence and Bungie’s Legal Headache

Bungie’s defence stumbled in part because the studio couldn’t produce a working copy of Destiny 2’s original story campaign for the judge to review. Like many early pieces of Destiny 2 content, the initial campaign and related assets are now locked away in Bungie’s controversial content “vault”, a move that’s frustrated players and, in this case, hurt the studio’s legal position.

The official court filing was blunt about what happened: “A settlement conference was conducted on this date before the undersigned Magistrate Judge. Negotiations were successful and resulted in the settlement of all claims. The Court thanks counsel and the parties for their efforts in bringing this matter to an amicable resolution.”

The agreement gives both sides sixty days to raise objections, but right now, “all parties have firmly agreed upon a compromise.” Neither compensation details nor the specific terms have been made public, standard practice for private settlements like this, especially when a major studio is involved.

A Studio Under Fire: Lawsuits, Layoffs, and Accusations

This plagiarism case comes as part of a tough stretch for Bungie. The company’s faced a series of accusations from multiple artists about the unauthorised use of their work in both Destiny 2 and their upcoming title, Marathon. Earlier this year, Bungie admitted that a piece of external artwork appeared in Marathon without the artist’s consent, the latest in a run of creative disputes going public.

It doesn’t stop at copyright issues. Bungie is also staring down a $200 million “wrongful dismissal” lawsuit from Christopher Barrett, a director on both Destiny 2 and the Marathon reboot. Sony, which acquired Bungie in a $3.6 billion deal last year, responded by releasing allegations about Barrett’s workplace behaviour, which included reports of “sexually charged games of ‘Truth or Dare’” with female employees.

Behind the lawsuits, Bungie’s business outlook has also hit a rough patch. Sony reported in its latest earnings that Destiny 2 has missed sales expectations since the acquisition. Profits in Sony’s games division have fallen as the company took “impairment losses against a portion of Bungie, Inc.’s intangible and other assets in connection with Destiny 2.”

For Bungie fans and industry insiders, this settled lawsuit is just one battle in a larger war over creative control, workplace culture, and the bottom line of one of gaming’s most scrutinised studios. With Destiny 2 struggling to meet Sony’s expectations and Marathon mired in controversy before release, Bungie has little room for a misstep, especially when the courtroom is involved.