Bungie CEO Pete Parsons is leaving after nearly a decade

Bungie CEO Pete Parsons has announced that he is leaving the company after almost a decade.

“After more than two decades of helping build this incredible studio, establishing the Bungie Foundation, and growing inspiring communities around our work, I have decided to pass the torch,” Parsons wrote in a message announcing his departure.

“This journey has been the honor of a lifetime. I am deeply proud of the worlds we’ve built together and the millions of players who call them home – and most of all I am privileged by the opportunity to work alongside the incredible minds at Bungie.”

Justin Truman, the studio’s chief development officer, will take his place.

Parsons originally joined Bungie in 2002, working as an executive producer on Halo 2 and Halo 3. He would ascend to his current role as CEO in 2016.

“When I was asked to lead Bungie in 2015, my goal was to grow us into a studio capable of creating and sustaining iconic, generation-spanning entertainment. We’ve been through so much together: we launched a bold new chapter for Destiny, built an enviable, independent live ops organization capable of creating and publishing its own games, and joined the incredible family at Sony Interactive Entertainment.”

New CEO Justin Truman posted the following message in which he sets out his stall for the future of the troubled developer.

“I am committed to supporting and working alongside every member of the team here as we continue pouring our hearts and souls into these worlds. Worlds that we love, and that we hope have been worth your time and your passion. Because ultimately those worlds only exist, and thrive, with you in them.

“We are hard at work right now doing that – both with Marathon and Destiny. We’re currently heads down, but we’ll have more to show you in both of these worlds later this year.”

Marathon was originally planned to release on September 23, but Bungie announced in June that it had officially delayed the game, claiming that it needs more time to refine and test it.

“Through every comment and real-time conversation on social media and Discord, your voice has been strong and clear,” Bungie’s statement read. “We’ve taken this to heart, and we know we need more time to craft Marathon into the game that truly reflects your passion. After much discussion within our Dev team, we’ve made the decision to delay the September 23rd release.

According to Sony’s CFO, the game is expected to launch by the end of March.