Bungie recently replaced Marathon’s director, as the studio could be hit with more layoffs after the release of Destiny 2’s upcoming The Final Shape expansion.
As reported by IGN, the next live service game by the Sony-owned studio is now being directed by Joe Ziegler, Valorant’s former game director, replacing veteran Bungie designer Christopher Barrett. It is not yet known if Barrett is still at Bungie.
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
The development of Marathon is proceeding alongside works on Destiny 2’s Final Shape expansion, but the release of the expansion for the popular game may end up marking another round of layoffs at the studio. According to one person with knowledge of the studio’s budgets told IGN that nothing adds up and something will have to happen to “curb costs unless The Final Shape does so well to cover the gap and people can move to Marathon.”
Things haven’t been going well at Bungie since Sony’s acquisition. The IP known as Matter was reportedly canceled in 2020, as was another similar project in 2022. As senior company leadership is expected to leave during Summer 2026 when the final payouts from Sony’s acquisition take effect, the studio is trying to get Marathon out before then to leave whoever takes over to worry about supporting the game.
Marathon is a sci-fi extraction shooter with a focus on three-player teams, survival mechanics, an injury system, and more. Additional information on the game can be found in our report.
