Comparisons to Concord didn't feel great, says ex Marathon art director, but "as much as the haters try online ... you can't take the thing I care about the most"

1. Games
2. FPS Games
3. Marathon

Comparisons to Concord didn't feel great, says ex Marathon art director, but "as much as the haters try online ... you can't take the thing I care about the most" News By Austin Wood published 20 January 2026

Marathon's certainly got style

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

(Image credit: Bungie) Share Share by:

• Copy link
• Facebook
• X
• Whatsapp
• Pinterest
• Flipboard
• Email

Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google

Comparisons to Sony's live service failure Concord could weigh on former Marathon franchise art director Joseph Cross, who left developer Bungie shortly before the release date reveal for the incoming extraction shooter. Facing unflattering discussion, Cross says he focused on the art itself and examined the opportunity to take a rare "risk" on a game like this.

Cross discusses his exit from Bungie and his work on Marathon in an interview with ReaderGrev. Asked about the period where Marathon's challenges and stumbles inspired parallels to Concord – another risky, expensively produced, and premium-price competitive shooter, and another part of publisher Sony's ambitious plans to build a lineup of live service games – Cross reflects on a mix of positivity and negativity surrounding the game, as well as the light that guided him through it.

"It's difficult for me to take any of that stuff personally because I believe in the art, because I believe in what we've done," Cross says. "I think we did something really cool, and I think it will pan out. I can't control the way the game plays. I'm not a designer. I'm not the game director. I can only control what I can control, and what I could control, I feel really good about.

You may like

• "The Bungie team is fantastic": Academy Award-winning artist behind Marathon cinematic says the shooter's stolen art "was genuinely a mistake," and "blown out of proportion"
• The run-up to Marathon's release has been such a train wreck that it's easy to forget that the game might still be really good
• Former Destiny artist and Marathon art director leaves Bungie following fallout from its now-resolved controversy

"And you can't take that away from me, as much as the haters try online or wherever, and whether someone doesn't happen to like the art direction personally, whether they don't agree with some political thing Bungie did, or whatever the animosity du jour is, you can't take the thing I care about the most away."

Marathon's art was famously saddled with a now-resolved plagiarism fiasco, with designs from an external artist found to have been lifted wholesale by some of the game's corporate logos. Brutal riffs on the game's rallying cry, such as "Plagiarism will make me god," defined an especially ugly stretch in the game's road to release.

(Image credit: Bungie)

But it wasn't all bad news. Criticism of Concord often targeted its art, specifically its forgettable environments and character designs. Marathon's reveal was not without some similar criticisms of its own – some of which have been addressed in a visual update that's only made me like its style more – but it also immediately clicked for some people, the conveyance of its style and iconography aided by compelling pieces like a cinematic short written and directed by Alberto Mielgo. Its art could be divisive, but it was capable of grabbing attention and making an impact, which at least beats the indifference Concord widely inspired.

Cross likens Bungie's position – ending up in the shadow of an unrelated but somewhat similar and unfortunate project – to bad luck. "It feels like losing a lottery ticket or being in the wrong place at the wrong time," he says. "And that stuff never feels personal, you know?"

Sign up to the GamesRadar+ Newsletter

Weekly digests, tales from the communities you love, and more

Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsorsBy submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

"Something that sort of weighed on me, not super heavily, but something I've been aware of," would be the stakes of Marathon, Cross says. He rightly calls the game "such a risk" for Bungie, a studio which turned the also-risky Destiny into a decade-strong franchise (which Cross was also part of).

"You know, oftentimes we felt like we were sort of getting away with something. And I think about that in the big picture, the idea of studios funding unproven, unknown projects for six or eight years, for hundreds of millions of dollars, sort of on spec. How much longer are things like this going to exist?" he wonders.

Cross says he was on Marathon for about six years as part of a team that began with 12 people but ended up with hundreds of developers. Most of a game's development budget is labor over time, so while we don't have exact figures, we can very conservatively estimate that Bungie has sunk nine digits into Marathon's production.

"It's not always intuitive to remember that above all of this is this product that's being funded and every day that goes by is a day you're going further into the red," Cross observes "You're not making money. The studio is not making any money. And so anyway, that's a big one, especially when you're really trying to channel creativity and get to the point where you feel like you can't impose anything that feels like a risk."

Bungie confirms Marathon release for March, hours after the Xbox store spoiled the Destiny and Halo studio's big surprise.

CATEGORIES PS5 Xbox Series X PC Gaming Platforms PlayStation Xbox Austin WoodSocial Links NavigationSenior writer

Austin has been a game journalist for 12 years, having freelanced for the likes of PC Gamer, Eurogamer, IGN, Sports Illustrated, and more while finishing his journalism degree. He's been with GamesRadar+ since 2019. They've yet to realize his position is a cover for his career-spanning Destiny column, and he's kept the ruse going with a lot of news and the occasional feature, all while playing as many roguelikes as possible.

Show More Comments

You must confirm your public display name before commenting

Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.

Logout Read more "The Bungie team is fantastic": Academy Award-winning artist behind Marathon cinematic says the shooter's stolen art "was genuinely a mistake," and "blown out of proportion"    The run-up to Marathon's release has been such a train wreck that it's easy to forget that the game might still be really good    Former Destiny artist and Marathon art director leaves Bungie following fallout from its now-resolved controversy    Presumably praying people have room for another extraction shooter after Arc Raiders, Bungie opens Marathon signups for December playtest    Bungie shows off Marathon's reworked "Runner Shell" classes, and I'm still worried about invisibility and wall hacks    Stolen Marathon art issue "resolved" with Bungie and Sony "to my satisfaction," original artist says    Latest in FPS Games Halo: Campaign Evolved is coming to PS5 because the FPS is "best played when we have a large, healthy community"    All Marathon characters and Runners Shells we know of and their abilities    Bungie sets Marathon apart from Arc Raiders' AI-infused voices with a stacked cast including Baldur's Gate 3 actors    When does Marathon come out?    Halo: Campaign Evolved is a faithful remake tasked with relaunching a legendary franchise for a new generation of players    Battlefield 6 update nerfs jets for some reason and makes melee attacks quicker ahead of Season 2    Latest in News Comparisons to Concord didn't feel great, says ex Marathon art director, but haters "can't take the thing I care about the most"    Modder does the unthinkable, combines PS5, Xbox Series X, and Switch 2 into a single machine: "Stop the console war!"    The Binding of Isaac creator's new roguelike Mewgenics already has over a third of the achievements of Isaac despite it being 11 years and 3 expansions ahead    Life is Strange: Reunion is the conclusion of Max and Chloe's story, and it's set to release in just 2 months    Palworld dev "couldn't believe" the state of publisher deals in games and wanted to be "much fairer" with devs    After a troubled development, Hypixel founder says "I have no regrets saving Hytale"    GAME REVIEWSMOVIE REVIEWSTV REVIEWS

1. 1Looking for a good 2-player board game? This superhero adventure is worth suiting up for
2. 2Trails Beyond the Horizon review: "This JRPG's thrilling real-time and turn-based combat evolves Metaphor ReFantazio's hybrid battles, making up for a poorly paced adventure"
3. 3Scythe review: "This alt-history board game is still a gold standard for modern strategy"
4. 4Skate Story review: "A beautiful and unique skateboarding game with great, stylized visuals set in a grungy underworld"
5. 5Octopath Traveler 0 review: "The strongest entry in this retro-styled JRPG series yet, I love the greater focus on tactical battles"

1. 128 Years Later: The Bone Temple review: "The wildest and weirdest entry into the franchise yet"
2. 2Avatar: Fire and Ash review: "Still a technical marvel, with some of the year's best action filmmaking"
3. 3Five Nights at Freddy's 2 review: "We have waited two years for a Five Nights at Freddy's 1.5"
4. 4Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery review: "Brings Knives Out back to its roots for a sequel that's almost on a par with the original"
5. 5Wicked: For Good review: "Builds to an incredibly cathartic conclusion, but isn't quite as captivating as Part 1"

1. 1Starfleet Academy review: "It may feel a little different to what we're used to, but this is Star Trek through and through"
2. 2A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms review: "This Game of Thrones spin-off is a heartfelt and fun return to Westeros"
3. 3Stranger Things season 5 finale review: “Shows off both the best and the worst of Hawkins”
4. 4Stranger Things season 5, Volume 2 review: “All set up for a finale that has so much to deliver”
5. 5Fallout season 2 review: "A hell of a lot of fun despite being overcrowded and convoluted"