Earlier this week, as part of the ongoing "Season of the Deep," Destiny 2 released a cutscene that casually pulls back the curtain on some of the deepest mysteries in its nine-year history: the three-and-a-half-minute video, which explains the origin of the current arc's main villain, "The Witness," and the " Vale" - arguably the most infuriating story beat of the "Lightfall" campaign - finally explains the identity of the "Vale.

While some players are happy to finally have answers, others are puzzled as to why such a major story beat was delivered in a season update and then removed in the next expansion, "The Final Shape," to be released next year. And on Twitter, another controversy has arisen: a Twitter thread by Julian Faylona, known as ELEMENTJ21 designs, highlighting the similarities between fan art he created two years ago and a specific image in a cutscene, raising plagiarism allegations! . [The composition is nearly identical, with the only major change being a stylistic adjustment to fit the aesthetic of the cutscene. Reaction from the community has been brisk. "There is plagiarism in a cutscene that shows the origin of one of the most important characters in Destiny's history. It's plagiarism," wrote streamer Zavalr, tagging the Destiny 2 team directly in a tweet. Such a response is perhaps understandable, given the importance of this moment in the game's overall story and the fact that Bungie has come under fire for this kind of blunder in the past.

However, when I contacted the artists themselves, they had a different view. [To be honest, I'm genuinely excited and happy that my work from two years ago (which I've recognized as being based on the "Destiny" franchise since that time) was chosen for the cutscene," Feyrona told PC Gamer. "It was totally unexpected and completely took me by surprise. So I wanted to scream about it."

"I'm so excited to be a part of it," she said.

In a statement to PC Gamer, Bungie said it is taking steps to remedy the situation, which it had heard was caused by an "outside vendor" gone wrong.

"Bungie has been in contact with ELEMENTJ21 regarding the cutscene art piece this week and plans to compensate and credit them for their work. It has come to our attention that an outside vendor who assisted in the creation of this cutscene mistakenly thought the art was official Bungie artwork and used it as a reference. We are currently waiting to hear back from the artist in order to take the necessary steps to remedy this situation."

I am relieved to hear that they plan to compensate and credit Faylona. At the very least, having one's work mistaken for official Bungie artwork is a compliment of sorts. Still, it's hard to make such a mistake at such an important juncture, especially for the fans whose initial appreciation for this story beat was damaged by this mistake.