Marathon’s director confirms he’s quit Bungie, four months after launch
Joe Ziegler exits after a tough month for Bungie, which saw significant layoffs
The director of Bungie and PlayStation’s extraction shooter, Marathon, has confirmed that he’s left the studio, four months after the game’s launch.
Former Valorant game director Joe Ziegler joined Bungie towards the end of Marathon’s development, following the departure of the game’s original director, Christopher Barrett, under controversial circumstances.
In a post on social media, Ziegler said this weekend that he’s decided to join another project elsewhere and confirmed that Marathon will be taken over by Del Chafe III, previously assistant game director, alongside creative director Julia Nardin.
“Both of them have been operating in a strong leadership capacity for the team and are ready to guide Marathon into the next chapter with an even better and brighter future,” Ziegler wrote.
“I’m proud of them and I’m excited to see them helm the future of this crazy little world we’ve created together. As for me, I’ll be heading to something new, somewhere else, and will update you on where and what soon.
“I just want to say a deeply heartfelt thank you to all of you for supporting me and Marathon in our windy mission to bring a dark and terrifying space survival frontier to your screen. The mission will continue in new and surprising ways so stay tuned for what this team has in store for you!”
Marathon launched in March and is estimated to have sold over 2 million copies. The game’s creative director, Julia Nardin, has claimed that its development team has already planned out the framework for a years-long story.
Marathon director exits following a tough month for Bungie
Ziegler’s departure follows a difficult few weeks for Bungie, which last month confirmed it was laying off “most” of the Destiny 2 team and some Marathon developers. Bungie ended support for Destiny 2 last month.
His exit also follows the conclusion of a lawsuit brought by former Marathon director Christopher Barrett, who said PlayStation had agreed to insert his name into the game’s credits as part of a settlement.
Barrett, who was the original director of Marathon, had his employment terminated by Bungie in 2024, after more than 25 years at the company, for misconduct.
In court documents, Sony alleged that Barrett had sent inappropriate messages to female employees. Barrett denied the claims and called the investigation that led to his firing a “sham”.
He later sued Bungie and its parent company, Sony Interactive Entertainment, accusing it of defamation and breach of contract. Notably, he alleged that Sony fired him in order to avoid paying him more than $45 million in bonuses generated from its 2022 purchase of the studio.
