Bungie’s Marathon gets a new director, while its MOBA-like game is ‘in a holding pattern’

Bungie has changed Marathon’s game director, reportedly as part of a wider shake-up of the project’s creative leadership team.

While Christopher Barrett was Marathon’s game director when the sci-fi extraction shooter was announced last year, the Bungie veteran has since been replaced.

Former Valorant game director Joe Ziegler, who left Riot Games to join Bungie in 2022, has since stepped into the role.

According to IGN, Ziegler publicly announced his position as director shortly after the publication had caught wind of changes behind the scenes and approached the studio for comment.

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) <a target="_blank" rel=«noopener» class=«link-external» href=«https://twitter.com/Ziegler_Dev/status/1770144111518941682?ref_src=» https:>March 19, 2024

“For the last 9 Months I’ve been working on Marathon as the game director,” he said on X. “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.”

Sources told IGN that a number of changes have been made to Marathon under Ziegler’s watch, including moving away from custom player characters to a selectable cast of heroes.

When Sony acquired Bungie in 2022, it’s claimed the studio was working on a couple of “incubation projects”. One, which was reportedly axed later that year, is said to have been similar to a previously cancelled new IP called Matter. The other, a MOBA-like game codenamed Gummy Bears, is said to be “in a holding pattern”.

It was reported in December that Bungie’s position as an independent subsidiary of Sony Interactive Entertainment was under threat.

At the time of the acquisition’s announcement, the PlayStation maker said Bungie would “continue to operate independently, maintaining the ability to