Valorant Game Director Is Now a New Marathon Director
Bungie has shifted Christopher Barrett from the position of Marathon Director for unknown reasons.
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Bungie struggled incredibly hard last year due to Lightfall’s negative start, major layoffs at the end of the year, and low pre-orders for The Final Shape. The studio is in real chaos, about which we know nothing and only bits of information reach us. Today, new info about the situation around the Marathon and studio’s situation has emerged, and it is not very comforting for fans.
New Marathon Game Director
According to sources at IGN, Bungie removed Christopher Barrett from the position of Marathon Game Director, and now his place is taken by Joe Ziegler, the former game director of Valorant. Joe himself confirmed this in his post on Twitter, where he stated that he has been the director of Marathon “for the last 9 months.” IGN sources add that the focus of Marathon is gradually shifting, and now players have a selectable cast of heroes instead of custom player characters.
Information on Previous Projects
The IGN’s report also revealed the fate of two other Bungie projects: Matter and Project Gummy Bears. The first Bungie’s project was canceled in 2020 but then devolopers began making a similar project, which was also canceled in 2022. On the other hand, Project Gummy Bears, a MOBA-like game announced in August last year, has been temporarily put on hold due to the studio’s problems. Right now, Bungie only works on The Final Shape and Marathon.
Bungie’s Struggles and Possible Leadership Changes
Unfortunately, this is not where the new information ends, as it became known about a possible new wave of layoffs after the release of The Final Shape:
“One person with knowledge of budgets at Bungie told me that “nothing adds up” and “something will need to happen to curb costs unless The Final Shape does so well to cover the gap and people can move to Marathon.””
— IGN’s report by Rebekah Valentine
What could be devastating for fans is that senior company leadership could leave in the summer of 2026, when Sony pays them all the money under the contract. Because of this, Marathon’s release should happen as soon as possible before this happens so that either Sony or someone else in Bungie can deal with the game after.
According to a rumor from Aztecross, a big Destiny 2 content creator, an unknown source reported information about the conflict between Sony and Bungie’s leadership. His source states that Sony wants to take Bungie under its management, removing all the top leadership to improve the studio. You can hear more about this in Aztecross’s video.
Final Words
In any case, today’s rumors may once again mark a dark time for Destiny fans, as now no one knows what can happen with the studio in the coming years, or even months. And yet, the developers from Bungie continue to try hard for their audience, presenting today on a live stream the upcoming content for Destiny 2 Into the Light.
Thanks for Reading! Owl is Flying Away.
Comments
interesting. I might hire some valorant devs for personal usage.