Bungie has entered a settlement agreement from the complaint of copyright infringement against it over the main storyline in its Destiny 2 launch content and campaign The Red War. According to court documents – obtained by The Game Post -, the developer has settled with science fiction author Matthew Kelsey Martineau, closing off a legal contest that would have been unique in showing how the USA courts deal with the narrative claims of the fast-changing video gaming industry. This settlement was confirmed by the court order given by U.S. District Judge Susie Morgan in the Eastern District of Louisiana on 14 November 2025.
The Louisiana based author brought the complaint in October 2024, claiming that Destiny 2 borrowed heavily from a series of short narratives he wrote between 2013 and 2014 that together make The Red Legion. The charge was partially aimed at the similarities between the combat-hungry alien faction in the game called The Red Legion that is headed by Dominus Ghaul and the characters and narrative arcs detailed in Martineau’s own science fiction work. The court order says the lawsuit has been settled on all counts, but it keeps under seal the specific terms of the agreement between Bungie and Martineau.
A significant procedural hurdle throughout this case was Bungie’s longstanding policy of “vaulting” Destiny 2 content, the Red War campaign being among those cuts many years before. Without the gameplay footage being made official and out in a publicly accessible venue, Bungie’s attorneys had to resort to third-party evidence, such as wiki pages maintained by the community and fan-uploaded YouTube videos, to attempt to show the original material. In a major ruling early May of the year 2025, a federal judge refused to accept this proof from the third-party sources as verifiable evidence, stating that the court could not conduct the necessary side-by-side comparison without confirmed authentic materials or direct access to the content.
This ruling, in effect, was what held Bungie back from getting the case thrown out in its early stages, with the end result that the case was driven towards settlement. Following the confirmation of the resolution, Judge Morgan has administratively closed the case, a standard practice. However, both parties have been granted a 60-day window to re-open the lawsuit should any part of the settlement agreement fail to be finalized. The outcome underscores the unique legal challenges that game developers face while dealing with claims related to creativity, especially when this model involves withdrawing substantial narrative assets from permanent circulation.
