Bungie Game Directors Switch Up

Reports suggest that Bungie is going through a change in creative leadership, leading to the replacement of game directors for its PvP rendition of the classic 90s shooter series, Marathon. Joe Ziegler, previously the game director for Valorant, has now taken on this role for the project.

Initially, Bungie designer Christopher Barrett was spearheading the development of this “sci-fi PvP extraction shooter.” However, as rumors emerged about Barrett stepping down, Joe Ziegler confirmed his new position as the game director through a social media announcement.

In a post on Twitter/X, Ziegler stated, “For the last nine months, I’ve been working on Marathon as the game director. We’re still baking, but I’m excited to share more info on the game as we approach its release.”

Sources at IGN indicate that Ziegler’s new role is part of a broader creative leader restructuring at Bungie, which has been influenced by “ongoing anxiety” following last year’s layoffs within the studio. These layoffs saw 100 Bungie employees losing their jobs, a move that Bungie boss Pete Parsons later referred to as a “sad day” for the studio, a statement that drew criticism at that time.

The downsizing at Bungie followed a decline in Destiny 2 player numbers and underwhelming pre-order figures for The Final Shape expansion scheduled for this year. Following the announcement of the job cuts, Bungie decided to postpone the release of The Final Shape by four months, while Marathon, the studio’s ambitious live-service project, was pushed back to 2025.