Bungie settles Destiny 2 Red War copyright lawsuit

Bungie has settled a year-long copyright dispute with science fiction author Matthew Martineau regarding the original Red War story in Destiny 2. The agreement was reached outside of court.

In October 2024, author Martineau filed a lawsuit against the game developer, alleging they borrowed significant concepts, groups, and plot points from stories he’d written in 2013 and 2014 under the name Caspar Cole. He specifically pointed to resemblances with the Red Legion and elements that eventually showed up in the ‘Curse of Osiris’ expansion.

As a Destiny player, I was pretty shocked to hear about this lawsuit! Bungie tried to get it dismissed, arguing that because fans had documented the story content that was removed from the game (the Red War campaign) on YouTube and wikis, there couldn’t be any copyright issues. But the judge wasn’t having it – they said Bungie couldn’t use fan-made content as a defense, and now the case is actually moving forward. It’s a big deal, and I’m curious to see how it all plays out.

Bungie and Martineau end legal dispute

The Game Post reported that the legal dispute was resolved on November 12th with an out-of-court settlement. A judge later officially confirmed the settlement and closed the case without either side having to pay legal fees.

The court has been informed that all parties have reached a settlement. Therefore, the case is dismissed for everyone involved, with no one responsible for court fees. However, either party can ask to reopen the case within 60 days if the settlement agreement isn’t finalized, provided they have a valid reason.

Destiny 2’s Red War campaign was removed and “vaulted” in November 2020.

The court has two months to revisit the case or make sure the agreement is followed if needed. The details of the settlement are confidential and not available to the public.

It’s unlikely Destiny 2’s original Red War campaign will return. Bungie has stated that the current game version isn’t compatible with the campaign, which was removed in 2020 and stored in their content ‘vault’.

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2025-11-16 18:18