Marathon changes tagline after alleged art theft, loses aura

Michael Hassall Published December 19, 2025

Marathon, the upcoming extraction shooter by Bungie, has made the decision to change its tagline after the previous one courted ridicule.

On Dec. 18, Bungie revealed the game’s new tagline would be Marathon: “Death Is the First Step.” Previously the tagline had been “Escape Will Make Me God.” However, fans and observers have pointed out that the new tag is arguably worse, and doesn’t escape the art theft memes.

Update 20/12/2025: Marathon devs have revealed the tagline has not gone completely, as per replies to recent news.

Marathon switches its tagline, but fans think it’s gotten worse

For those unaware, Marathon was embroiled in controversy over alleged art theft used in both concept design and in-game assets used in Marathon’s alpha. As a result, Marathon’s then tagline, “Escape Will Make Me God” had been parodied into the “Plagiarism Will Make Me God.”

“Escape Will Make Me God” had originally been a line uttered by Durandal, the AI at the heart of the original Marathon series. However, the line had been corrupted by a fanbase who were outraged by the blatant art theft by Bungie.

The Marathon community made light of the game’s previous tagline. Image Credit: u/BananaBrodie

Unfortunately, the new tagline has not fared much better. “Death Is the First Step” has already been altered to “Plagiarism is the First Step” by online commenters. What’s more, the dramatic impact of “Escape Will Make Me God” has definitely been lost. The phrase was perfect for an extraction shooter, while “Death is the first step” sounds more like you’re going to die a lot no matter what.

While Bungie came to a resolution on its art theft controversy, seemingly an apparent settlement revealed earlier this month, the fallout from issues still remains.

As a result, Bungie’s Marathon art director, Joseph Cross, left the company as per reports also surfacing on Dec. 18. Cross has been art director on Marathon during the art theft allegations. It had been revealed that Cross had followed Antireal, the artist whose art had been used, for almost seven years.

Cross reportedly left the company of his own volition, but after a public scandal some are sceptical of that reasoning.

Marathon is set to release early next year.

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Featured Image Credit: Bungie