Bungie is facing legal challenges with a lawsuit claiming that they lifted themes from a sci-fi narrative initially shared online, specifically regarding Destiny 2’s original campaign.
A federal judge in the United States has ruled that the lawsuit will move forward, as Bungie has not provided adequate evidence to justify dismissing the case.
The key evidence could have been a playable version of Destiny 2 that includes the original storyline, but much of that content has been removed and stored away in Bungie’s contentious content “vault.”
“Defendant [Bungie] has acknowledged it cannot produce the entirety of the relevant form of Destiny 2 for the court’s review,” Judge Susie Morgan stated. Instead, Bungie provided links to YouTube videos and excerpts from a fan-maintained Wiki, Destinypedia, to support its position.
“As Defendant admits in its reply, ‘[t]here is now no feasible way for [Defendant] to provide the Court with a reviewable form of the [Red War or Osiris] campaigns or to produce them should this matter proceed to discovery,'” Morgan elaborated. “Defendant does not clarify how the Court would be able to conduct a comparison if Destiny 2 isn’t available.”
Regardless of any claims about the accuracy of the plagiarism charge, Judge Morgan determined that the case will proceed due to the failure to present proper evidence for dismissal.
Over several years, Bungie has removed substantial amounts of content from Destiny 2, including the foundational Red War campaign, the Curse of Osiris and Warmind expansions, along with the beloved Forsaken expansion. The culling included multiple planetary locations and resulted in the loss of raids, strike missions, and several multiplayer maps.
Bungie’s rationale for these removals was to keep Destiny 2’s file size manageable. However, this decision was met with discontent from the player community and was ultimately halted.
Currently, Bungie is contending with a lawsuit filed by Matthew Kelsey Martineau, a writer who asserts he posted a sci-fi tale on WordPress during Destiny 2’s development phase.
Martineau contends that his narrative included an invading military force called the Red Legion, attacking Earth and utilizing flamethrowers. The Red Legion’s primary objective was to seize Tononob Station, “a massive celestial entity hovering above Earth that houses valuable assets,” with the intent of conquering the planet.
In a striking parallel, Bungie’s original Destiny 2 campaign also centers on an invading force known as the Red Legion attacking Earth, employing flamethrowers as a weapon. Their goal was to capture The Traveller, a large celestial entity floating above Earth, believed to hold incredible powers. (Though I can’t be certain, as it’s been years since I’ve engaged with that campaign.)
Destiny 2’s grand conclusion, The Final Shape expansion, was released last summer, bringing an end to a decade of narrative development. Nevertheless, new content continues to roll out as Bungie gears up for the launch of Marathon. This evening, Bungie is set to unveil its plans for the next year of Destiny 2 in a livestream commencing at 5pm UK time.
