A top director at Bungie, Christopher Barrett, who is the reboot director for Marathon, apologized after he was allegedly fired following a misconduct investigation for supposed "unwanted" and "inappropriate" messages to female employees.
The development comes after the studio announced in March 2024 a leadership reshuffle on their Marathon reboot project. Former Valorant developer Joe Ziegler was chosen to replace veteran Bungie designer Barrett as director.
Bungie Director Fired
However, it seems that there was more to that story on top of the progress with Marathon than the company had shared with the public.
A recent report cited anonymous sources who said that Barrett was actually fired after he faced accusations from several Bungie staff of inappropriate behavior.
Bloomberg's sources said that the inappropriate behavior meant "comments upon the appearance of lower-level employees."
It also included requests to hang out together, suggestions that he could use his wealth and power to advance their careers, and invitations to play truth-or-dare, according to Rock Paper Shotgun.
They also noted that Barrett would make efforts to befriend women in various Bungie departments and then bombard them with text messages. These supposedly "blurred the lines between professional and personal."
Furthermore, several people who were interviewed described the former Bungie director's advances as unwanted. They also noted that they felt uncomfortable given Barrett's greater seniority at the company.
Unwanted and Inappropriate Messages
Bungie's parent company, Sony Interactive Entertainment, declined to comment regarding Barrett's case specifically. However, a company spokesperson said that it took "all complaints of misconduct very seriously.
It is our policy and practice to investigate every complaint promptly and take action based on the findings of our investigation," said Bloomberg.
Barrett also addressed the issue, saying that he felt that he has always conducted himself with integrity and has been respectful and supportive of his colleagues. He said that he considered many of them as close friends.
The former Bungie director added that he never understood that his communications were unwanted and never thought for a second that they made anyone feel uncomfortable. He expressed his apologies if his actions made anyone feel that way, according to IGN.
Talking about history, Barrett started working at Bungie Inc. in 1999 and since then, he rose through the ranks as an artist and then a director on the highly popular Halo and Destiny franchises. He also served on the company's board before it was bought by Sony Group Corp. for $3.6 billion in 2022.
