Marathon’s New Visual Update Is Winning Gamers Over After Art Theft Backlash

Marathon, an upcoming shooter from the creators of Halo and Destiny, is winning over gamers after its AI and alleged art theft controversy.

Without question, the Halo series, starring the adventures of Master Chief, otherwise known as John-117, is one of the most important first-person shooter series of all time.

When Halo: Combat Evolved was released as an Xbox launch title in November 2001, it revolutionised how the genre is played on console. Sure, a controller can never quite beat the keyboard and mouse combo, but the very first Halo game was the start of a new standard of gameplay for console gamers.

Following Sony Interactive Entertainment’s acquisition of Bungie for a reported $3.7 billion in 2022, and announcing its first game under new ownership with Marathon during a PlayStation Showcase event in July 2023, Halo and Destiny fans were buzzing with excitement.

Sony and Bungie Admitted to Using Artwork Without Permission

Marathon, Bungie

However, following a big Marathon gameplay reveal in 2025, graphic artist Antireal accused Bungie of plagiarism after suspect artwork was spotted in promotional material. Following an internal review, as reported by Eurogamer in May 2025, Bungie admitted to using artwork without permission.

In December 2025, Antireal provided an update on Twitter, announcing that the situation with Bungie and Sony Interactive Entertainment had been resolved. I would assume that an NDA would have been signed, hence why details on the settlement have not been made public.

If you thought getting caught up in a plagiarism scandal wasn't bad enough, there were a lot of fans not only happy with the art direction of Marathon, but many also felt that its gameplay looked uninspired, at least judging from the official gameplay footage.

Bungie Delayed Marathon

Bungie would later launch a closed beta for Marathon, which may have helped the developers come to the conclusion in June 2025 that the multiplayer FPS needs to be delayed and would now arrive at some point during early 2026.

Yesterday, Bungie finally announced the new release date for Marathon, and it will now arrive on 5 March 2026. Accompanying the release date announcement was a visual upgrade for the game.

Don’t get me wrong, I was never really much of a fan of the original art style for Marathon, but at least it was somewhat recognisable, for better or worse. From a technical perspective, the new visuals look nice and shiny, but they don't help Marathon stand out from other FPS games, in my opinion.

Marathon Fans Are Hyped

“Now that people are feeling more positive about the game…,” said Redditor sgtnatino, sharing an image from the Hangover movies with some added positive vibes following the release date and visual upgrade.

“To me, it’s not about the launch. It’s three months in that will tell the tale if Marathon is gonna be successful. Bungie is great at manufacturing hype,” replied LaFlamaBlancakfp.

“I've been excited for the game since day one, today feels especially good and VINDICATING!” declared Ykindasus.

Not everyone is happy or overly excited about Marathon. Some suggest that expectations must be dampened, and some, such as Fcm_English, seem not to be impressed by the upgrade. “Just wish they hadn't butchered it, I was genuinely excited,” they said.

I’m happy for those excited about Marathon, but we won’t know if the game will be any good or even a success until launch. Only time will tell.

Marathon will be released on PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S.