Bungie’s Marathon Loses Original Director As Studio Continues To Struggle

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Abdullah Waseem

At T4G, my task is to cover the latest news around the gaming globe ASAP and with the utmost precision. I adore all the games and respect all the devs behind the amazing games that we get all year. So, whether it’s a PC or a Console game, I got it all covered. 

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Following recent reports of Bungie’s dire situation and PlayStation’s dissatisfaction, it seems that the troubles at the studio are far from over.

The studio seems to have replaced key members of the team working on the highly anticipated Marathon. Additionally, the game director has reportedly been replaced by Valorant’s former director.

Why it matters: Marathon’s announcement was met with excitement. It was seen as a beloved revival and a fresh start for Bungie. However, this turmoil suggests the game’s development is not going smoothly.

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

Joe Ziegler, who formerly worked at Riot Games as a director for Valorant, has taken the place of Bungie’s long-term designer, Christopher Barrett. This information was initially revealed in a report but has now been confirmed by Ziegler himself.

According to IGN, the shift in directors has also led to some key changes in the game. It is now moving away from custom characters and will feature a selectable cast of heroes.

However, the fear of layoffs still looms over the heads of the developers. An employee stated that nothing Bungie is doing adds up, leading to fears of more layoffs once the Destiny 2 expansion, The Final Shape, comes out.

This could only be avoidable if the expansion exceeds all expectations, but this does not seem likely.

Furthermore, reports state that the Bungie leadership will leave once Sony pays the final acquisition dues in 2026. Therefore, they want to launch Marathon before that and leave the rest to the next leadership at the studio.

Bungie has been in a total state of crisis ever since the acquisition. While this may not have much to do with PlayStation, the studio, once known for games like Halo 3, is suffering from declining player interest.

Destiny 2 has reached new lows on Steam recently, and Bungie does not appear to have been much help in Sony’s live-service push. Still, we hope the team can recover and eventually return to its former glory.

Abdullah Waseem

News Reporter

Abdullah is an avid gamer who primarily plays single-player titles. If you can’t find him anywhere, he’ll probably be at his desk playing The Witcher 3 for the millionth time. When he isn’t playing games, he’s either reading or writing about them.