Marty O’Donnell (66) is the legendary composer behind games like Destiny and Halo. However, a court has now ordered him to pay about $100,000 to Destiny 2 developer Bungie. O’Donnell doesn’t seem to take this well.
What’s going on between O’Donnell and Bungie?
- The composer was a key figure at Bungie for a long time and was part of the close-knit “core” team of the company. He is known for the legendary Halo soundtrack; much of the sound for Destiny 1 also comes from him.
- However, in 2014, he had a falling out with Bungie and was fired. Later it became clear: He repeatedly clashed with publisher Activision, who didn’t use his music, but instead chose other music for marketing materials for Destiny 1.
- Activision even prohibited him from releasing his major project “Music of the Spheres.” For O’Donnell, Activision was early on the enemy, he saw them as greedy capitalists and was bitterly disappointed by his friends at Bungie for giving up their “independence.”
- O’Donnell sued Bungie after his dismissal and won in 2015. As part of the lawsuit, many internal details about Destiny and Bungie became known. However, the court ordered the composer to hand over all musical material he created for Destiny to Bungie and to delete all versions. But the dedicated composer did not comply.
This was the new lawsuit: Bungie had filed a lawsuit stating that O’Donnell had acted against the court ruling from 2015. O’Donnell had started uploading videos and other pieces on his own YouTube channel in 2019 that were related to Destiny and “Music of the Spheres.”
This is the verdict: As revealed by Eurogamer, a court approved Bungie’s lawsuit on July 12, 2021.
- O’Donnell must now delete all relevant pieces from the internet. A third party will verify that all pieces from his “electronic devices” related to Destiny or “Music of the Spheres” have been deleted.
- O’Donnell must also state on Twitter, YouTube, and other platforms that he did not have the right to possess or distribute these materials. He must also urge others who downloaded these pieces to delete them and destroy any copies.
- O’Donnell is not allowed to comment on the process or respond to questions about it – the message must speak for itself.
- The composer is also to repay all money he earned from sales, and cover court costs and other expenses. Allegedly, the costs are about $100,000, as a representative of O’Donnell stated.
Composer repeatedly published angry tweets, which he later deleted
How does O’Donnell respond to this? O’Donnell has apparently not yet complied with the court’s demands to distance himself from the material.
As Eurogamer reports, O’Donnell has repeatedly expressed frustration about the case since June 2021 and has made hints.
In June, he had announced that he would completely withdraw from the gaming industry. He hinted that he would have to close his YouTube channel – when asked why, O’Donnell replied, one should ask Bungie’s CEO, Pete Parsons.
And finally, he asked his followers on Twitter to purchase the soundtrack of a new game: He needs the money for his “extremely high legal fees.”
Now it is also clear what these hints were about – most of which have now been deleted.
O’Donnell has been criticizing his former employer and especially Activision Blizzard for years:
Destiny 2: Bungie Legend Tells Horror Story About Deal with Activision Blizzard
