Destiny 2’s latest Witch Queen expansion trailer has unintentionally used fanart of Xivu Arath, with Bungie describing things as a “mix-up.”
A trailer for the upcoming Destiny 2: The Witch Queen expansion has accidentally used fanart of Xivu Arath rather than official Bungie materials. The new trailer, which debuted earlier in the week, takes a glance at the search for Destiny’s Savathûn, exploring a detective’s board of clues, images, and notes. The Witch Queen is Destiny 2’s next expansion and is about to release in February 2022.
Destiny 2: The Witch Queen will take players to Savathûn’s Throne World as they struggle to untangle the mystery of her and her Lucent Hive’s theft of the sunshine. The expansion will introduce the new Glaive weapon type, a solid spear-like weapon with an extended, curved blade. Bungie has previously compared Destiny 2: The Witch Queen’s campaign to games like Doom and Titanfall 2, suggesting fans will be sure a treat when the new content finally releases. Destiny 2: The Witch Queen was first set to launch this year before being delayed.
Artist and Twitter user Mal E’s fanart of Xivu Arath was quickly spotted within the latest Witch Queen trailer, with Forbes confirming with the artist that Bungie hadn’t sought permission to use the piece. Mal E told the publication they believed the utilization of the artwork was “100% some quite crazy mistake,” noting that they are “absolutely not claiming any theft of design.” Bungie lead community manager Cozmo described things as a “mix-up,” confirming that Bungie has now sought permission from the artist and can be crediting them. He said:
“There was a mix-up when creating this post and @relay314’s art was accidentally used. we’ve reached bent them and got permission to use their work and are now crediting them for this awesome community depiction of Xivu Arath.”
Some more dreamin of miss Xivu Arath 💪😔💪 pic.twitter.com/aIuMGobhP7
— Mal E (@relay314) October 30, 2020
There was a mix-up when creating this post and @relay314's art was accidentally used. We have reached out to them and got permission to use their work and are now crediting them for this awesome community depiction of Xivu Arath. https://t.co/0m0GRsJbnt
— Cozmo (@Cozmo23) September 27, 2021
The trailer’s inclusion of Xivu Arath has been something of an enormous deal for Destiny 2 fans. The character hasn’t been seen in any promotional materials outside of one image from the Destiny illustrated Grimoire, making Mal E’s interpretation of the character the primary time Xivu Arath has been seen during a trailer. Xivu Arath may be a character often mentioned in Destiny but has yet to seem within the game. It’s expected that Xivu Arath’s official character model will be revealed within the coming months.
Destiny 2: The Witch Queen is simply the start of a replacement chapter for fans of the game, beginning several latest content. The expansion will be seminal to the subsequent few seasons of Destiny, with season 16 beginning on the day of The Witch Queen expansion’s release. Following that, season 17 will introduce a replacement map and all-new environments.
Destiny 2: The Witch Queen will release on 22 February 2022, available for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, Google Stadia, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.
Source: Forbes
