Summary
Bungiereportedly firedMarathondirector and formerDestinyart director Christopher Barrett after an internal investigation found that he allegedly behaved inappropriately towards at least eight female employees. Barrett was one of the longest tenured employees atBungiebefore his departure from the studio in March 2024, with some of his earliest work dating back to 1999 during development of the originalHalogame.
Bungie’sDestiny 2: The Final Shapeexpansionlaunched on June 4, and the subsequent release of the Salvation’s Edge raid on June 7 marked the end ofDestiny’sLight and Darkness saga. DespiteThe Final Shape’s strong critical and fan reception, over 200 Bungie employees were laid off a month after launch. Bungie restructured its approach to development, withMarathonandDestiny 2being the studio’s focus after other incubation projects were put on hold. Months before the layoffs, Bungie confirmed that Christopher Barrett had departed from the company.
According to anew Bloomberg reportby Jason Schreier,formerMarathondirector Christopher Barrettwas terminated in March after an internal investigation, which was prompted after at least eight female employees raised complaints about his behavior toward them. Multiple women, who asked not to be named while discussing private information, claim that Barrett would text them frequently, make suggestive comments and unwanted advances, and ask to play truth-or-dare. Reports that were filed by the employees also claimed that Barrett would make references to his wealth and power within Bungie, implying that he could advance their careers.
Marathon Director Christopher Barrett Reportedly Fired After Internal Investigation
When Bloomberg reached out to Barrett for comment, the formerMarathondirector said he always conducted himself with integrity and respect for his colleagues. Barrett formally apologized in his statement and stated that he never understood his communications to be unwanted or uncomfortable towards the employees referenced in the report. What’s more, a Bungie spokesperson said the company takes “all complaints of misconduct very seriously,” with studio policy and practice involving swift action based on the findings of their investigation.
The Bungie community is already frustrated with the handling ofDestiny 2’sEpisode: Echoes weekly story releasesand the aforementioned studio layoffs, so the situation involving Barrett paints Bungie in an even worse bad light. At the very least, Bungie addressed the situation and development ofMarathoncontinued unabated after Barrett’s firing.
There’s growing skepticism surrounding the new game as well, since rumors suggestanother delay forMarathonis possible. Further, Schreier previously stated that sentiment forMarathonwas “not great,” with some developers thinking that the game would not hit its current deadline.
