Bungie Settles Destiny 2 Red War Lawsuit

Bungie has formally settled the lawsuit over the Destiny 2 Red War storyline. The move closes a legal battle that tangled with Destiny 2's vaulted content and offered a rare look at how stateside courts assess game narratives.

In October 2024, Louisiana-based science fiction author Matthew Kelsey Martineau sued Bungie, alleging the developer infringed on his copyright with the Red War campaign for Destiny 2. The plaintiff claimed the game’s Season 1 narrative drew heavily from his 2013–2014 sci-fi short stories collectively referred to as The Red Legion, which revolve around a militaristic alien faction of the same name. He argued that Destiny 2's portrayal of its own Red Legion and its leader, Dominus Ghaul, shared significant similarities with the characters and narrative arcs in his own work.

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By Derek Nichols

Destiny 2 Red War Copyright Lawsuit Settled on All Counts

A year later, the copyright infringement lawsuit has been settled, according to court documents obtained by The Game Post. The settlement conference took place on November 12, with its resolution confirmed two days later in a court order issued by U.S. District Judge Susie Morgan of the Eastern District of Louisiana. The order states that the Destiny 2 lawsuit has been settled on all counts, thanking both parties for their efforts to resolve it amicably.

Bungie and Matthew K. Martineau Have 60 Days to Reopen Destiny 2 Red War Lawsuit for Any Reason

As a result, Judge Morgan has administratively closed the case, while giving both parties a 60-day window to reopen it in case the settlement falls through. Both the procedure and the length of the reopening period are standard for U.S. Federal courts. Reopen windows typically range from 30 to 90 days, depending on how long the court expects the parties to need to finalize their settlement paperwork. A 60-day period is common in cases where the agreement may involve multiple documents or logistical steps, but it does not reflect any assessment of the underlying legal merits or complexity of the complaint. The terms of the settlement are sealed.

Why Destiny 2 Red War Lawsuit Was a Bigger Headache Than a Typical Copyright Infringement Case

The settlement closes a legal battle complicated by Bungie's longstanding policy of vaulting Destiny 2 content, i.e., removing it from the game after some time. As a result, the company's attorneys had to rely on fan-made YouTube videos and community-maintained wiki pages to show what the disputed materials looked like during Season 1, which ran from September to December 2017.

In early May 2025, a federal judge refused to accept those third-party Destiny 2 recordings at the motion-to-dismiss stage of the lawsuit, stating that their authenticity had not been established. The court ruled it could not conduct a side-by-side comparison of Martineau’s work and the Red War campaign without verified footage or direct access to the game. Bungie’s vaulting policy thus effectively hindered its ability to have the case dismissed early, pushing the dispute toward settlement.

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