Bungie’s Marathon reboot is undergoing a regime change. Per IGN, Riot alum Joe Ziegler has been directing the extraction shooter, taking over from Christopher Barrett.
Ziegler joined Bungie in late 2022 in a then-vague role. According to his Twitter, he’s been directing the game for nearly a year as the Marathon team’s had a larger shift in its creative leadership.
At time of writing, it’s unclear if Barrett will remain at Bungie, and also why he was removed to begin with.
“For the last nine months, I’ve been working on Marathon as the game director,” wrote Ziegler. “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.”
Everything at Bungie hinges on Destiny 2: The Final Shape
According to IGN, Bungie staff worry more layoffs await after June’s Destiny 2: The Final Shape. The cuts in October 2023 were a wakeup call for the company, to the degree it’s looking to the expansion to turn its fortunes around.
Should Shape underperform, Sony will be allowed to dissolve the board and replace those members with whoever it wants in a full takeover.
Bungie leadership is said to want Marathon out the door by 2026 at the latest. By that point, the final payouts from the Sony acquisition will have hit senior leadership, after which most (or all) are expected to depart the studio.
One source alleged that unless Final Shape does extremely well, “something will need to happen” to offset costs and developers transferring to Marathon.
Beyond Marathon, Bungie had two other projects quietly in the works. One project, Matter, was canceled in 2020, then more officially in 2022 after a soft rework.
The other, Gummy Bears, is said to be in a “holding pattern” due to Bungie’s current woes. It’s unclear if its fate is tied to the performance of Shape, Marathon, or both.
IGN’s full report on Marathon and Bungie leadership can be read here.