Bungie Replaces Marathon Director Amid Leadership Shakeup, Fears of Layoffs

Amid ongoing anxiety within Bungie following layoffs last year, the studio is now preparing for another shakeup, this time on Marathon — its upcoming service game intended as its next step beyond Destiny. According to multiple sources familiar with the matter, Bungie is in the midst of shifting around its creative leadership on Marathon, including removing long-time Bungie designer Christopher Barrett from the game director role. IGN learned he is being replaced by former Valorant game director Joe Ziegler, who left Riot Games for Bungie in 2022. IGN has reached out to Bungie for comment on whether or not Barrett will remain with the company. Bungie has not yet responded to IGN's request for comment, but shortly after we reached out, Ziegler confirmed his appointment as game director on X/Twitter. "For the last 9 Months I’ve been working on Marathon as the game director," he wrote. "We’re still baking, but I’m excited to share with you more info on the game as we get closer and closer to bringing it to all of you." Hey everyone! Fun update: for the last 9 Months I’ve been working on Marathon as the game director. We’re still baking, but I’m excited to share with you more info on the game as we get closer and closer to bringing it to all of you. — Ziegler (@Ziegler_Dev) March 19, 2024 While this is going on, sources tell IGN that Bungie is pouring resources into getting Marathon out the door. The game's direction has shifted somewhat under Ziegler's new leadership, one source says, including moving away from custom player characters in favor of a selectable cast of heroes. Marathon Over Matter While upcoming Destiny 2 expansion The Final Shape is also being prioritized, there are growing fears and rumors that layoffs will immediately follow its release. 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." When Sony acquired Bungie, the studio brought with it a number of other incubation projects, including a MOBA-like game codenamed Gummy Bears and a new IP known as Matter. According to sources, Matter was canceled back in 2020, but the team continued working on a similar project with slightly different direction until that too was canceled in late 2022. Gummy Bears, meanwhile, is currently in a holding pattern due to the ongoing company struggles. Within the company, there is a growing expectation that senior company leadership will leave in droves in the summer of 2026 when the final payouts from Sony's acquisition of the company take effect. With this in mind, there is a strong push to get Marathon out the door before then, and let whoever takes the reins after that (be it Sony or Bungie) worry about how it's sustained. A Marathon, and a Sprint Bungie has found itself rocked by a number of major shake-ups in recent years that have tanked morale at the Destiny studio and left its future uncertain. Sony officially acquired the studio mid-2022, with the promise it would largely retain a semblance of freedom as an independent subsidiary. While sources say that's largely remained true, Bungie has struggled to meet key financial targets, Destiny 2 significantly underperformed last year. In October, Bungie laid off roughly 100 of its then-1,200 employees amid greater cost-cutting measures that saw Marathon delayed to 2025 and employee benefits slashed, further damaging the mood internally. Notably, multiple sources at the time and since have shared that Sony has largely left the studio to sort out its own troubles and was not responsible for the layoffs, with CEO Pete Parsons taking responsibility. However, sources at the time also told IGN that when leaders were asked if they had considered taking pay cuts prior to making layoff decisions, one responded that Bungie was not "that type of company." Internally, the sentiment is only growing that The Final Shape needs to succeed for Bungie to avoid further internal turmoil. Neither Bungie nor Sony responded to IGN's request for comment.