Former ‘Marathon’ Director Fired From Bungie For Misconduct

It was unclear when or why Marathon director Chris Barrett left the project and Bungie itself, but now new details have emerged. In a report by Jason Schreier of Bloomberg.

Barrett was fired by Bungie last spring after at least eight female employees accused him of inappropriate behavior that reportedly included calling women attractive, flirting, asking them out, and suggesting they play Truth or Dare, all while in a position of power as a high-ranking director at the studio, which he referred to as a way to help their careers. Barrett is currently married to a Twitch streamer who previously streamed Destiny.

Barrett issued a statement in response to the article, saying: “I feel I have always acted with integrity and respected and supported my colleagues, many of whom I consider my closest friends. I never understood my communications to be unwanted and I would never have imagined that they would make anyone feel uncomfortable. If anyone felt that way about their interactions with me, I am truly sorry.”

The investigation was already enough to get Barrett fired, a significant move given that he was leading the development of Marathon, Bungie’s upcoming major extraction shooter that they have to pitch to Sony.

The circumstances surrounding Barrett’s departure from Marathon were always strange. No one knew that Marathon had a new director, Valorant director Joe Ziegler, until nine months after it happened, and even then it was only revealed through outside reports. Ziegler eventually confirmed the timeline, meaning he took over just a month or so after Barrett was prominently featured in a documentary video revealing the core concepts of Marathon. That video now appears to have been private on Marathon’s page where it had previously been. Staff were initially told that Barrett had simply taken a leave of absence.

To this day, Barrett’s bio reads “Executive Creative Director // Myth, Halo, Destiny, Marathon.” It’s unclear if or where he’s currently working. He hasn’t tweeted since August 20. Prior to that, he drew some criticism for his apparent support for the use of GenAI, upsetting a number of Bungie artists who’d previously worked with him.

Bungie has previously been accused of failing to respond to situations like this. IGN previously reported complaints that HR was Not acting on misconduct In the studio, including sexism, racism, and verbal abuse:

“There was at least one longtime HR employee at Bungie who still works for the company, and nearly all of our sources described him as actively protecting toxic individuals. Several people said it seemed like his job was to ‘get rid of everything’ whenever someone had a problem with the company.”

Thus, it is again significant that Barrett, despite his prominence, was dismissed after an investigation of this kind.

Work on Marathon, which is currently scheduled for release in 2025, continues under the direction of Joe Ziegler. Bungie’s uncertain future remains a recurring concern, but according to sources, Marathon’s developers can now breathe a sigh of relief and refocus on the work itself, rather than their boss.

Reads Full Bloomberg story here.

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