Bungie's former 'Marathon' director reportedly fired for misconduct

It wasn't clear when or why Marathon director Chris Barrett left both the project and Bungie itself, but now new details have emerged in a report from Bloomberg's Jason Schreier.

Barrett was fired from Bungie last spring after at least eight female employees accused him of inappropriate behavior. He reportedly called the women attractive, flirted with them, asked them to meet up and suggested they play truth or dare, all while in a position of power as a high-ranking director at the studio. He was referring to this when he suggested he could help their careers. Barrett is currently married to a Twitch content creator who previously streamed Destiny.

Barrett issued a statement in response to the article, saying, “I believe I have always conducted myself with integrity and been respectful and supportive of my colleagues, many of whom I consider to be my closest friends. I have never felt that my communications were unwelcome and never imagined that they could make anyone feel uncomfortable. If anyone has ever felt that way in their dealings with me, I am sincerely sorry.”

The investigation was actually enough to get Barrett fired, a significant move considering he had been leading development on Marathon, Bungie's all-important upcoming extraction shooter that they have to deliver to Sony.

The circumstances of Barrett's departure from Marathon have always been strange. That Marathon had gotten a new director, Joe Ziegler of Valorant fame, wasn't learned until nine months later, and even then it only came to light through outside reporting. Ziegler eventually confirmed the timeline, meaning he took over just about a month after Barrett was featured prominently in a video revealing Marathon's core concepts. That video has now apparently been made private on the Marathon page where it was previously located. Employees were initially told Barrett was simply taking time off.

To date, Barrett's bio reads “Executive Creative Director // Myth, Halo, Destiny, Marathon.” It's unclear if and where he currently works. He hasn't tweeted since August 20. He had previously drawn some criticism for apparently supporting the use of GenAI, which angered a number of Bungie artists who had previously worked with him.

Bungie has been accused of failing to respond to such situations before. IGN previously reported complaints that HR failed to respond to misconduct at the studio, including sexism, racism, and verbal abuse:

“There was at least one long-time Bungie employee in HR who is still with the company who almost all of our sources described as someone who actively protects harmful individuals. Several people said that when someone had a problem with the company, it seemed like their job was to 'make everything go away.'”

For this reason, it is again significant that Barrett, despite his notoriety, was fired after an investigation of this nature.

Work on Marathon, currently scheduled for release in 2025, continues, now under the direction of Joe Ziegler. Bungie's uncertain future remains a frequent concern, but sources say Marathon developers can now breathe a sigh of relief and return their focus to the work itself, rather than their boss.

Read Bloomberg's full story here.

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