When Marathon was first revealed by Bungie back in 2023, it had Bungie veteran Christopher Barrett at the helm of the project as game director.
But approximately a month later, he would be removed from the role, replaced by Joe Ziegler. That piece of news didn’t come to light though until 10 months after Marathon’s reveal.
At the time it wasn’t clear if Barrett had left Bungie or if he had been moved to a new role, and why he was no longer directing Marathon. Now, a report from Bloomberg seems to clear up why Barrett was taken off the project.
Barrett was reportedly fired from Bungie following an internal investigation into his conduct regarding female colleagues. Multiple employees at Bungie filed complaints and reports about Barrett, who, according to the report had a reputation for “blurring the lines” between work-appropriate and not.
According to Bloomberg, Barrett would make remarks about female employees attractiveness, imply that he could aid in advancing their careers with “truth or dare” games that would all revolve around his own financial success and sway within Bungie.
Barrett’s pattern, as described in the report, would be to befriend women working in various parts of the studio and send them flurries of text messages, some of which Bloomberg reviewed and claimed to included “flirtatious messages from Barrett and requests to hang out with the women involved.”
Those who reported Barrett claimed to be uncomfortable with the situation both because the advances were not wanted and they could read between the lines regarding Barrett’s seniority in the studio.
Details on what exactly Barrett said or did are currently held under wraps due to it being an private internal investigation. Though considering that we wouldn’t have known anything about Barrett’s departure if not for Bloomberg’s report, and the fact that he was fired, indicate that it was more than enough for the companies involved to try and keep it quiet.
For his part, Barrett gave a statement to Bloomberg saying “I feel that I have always conducted myself with integrity and been respectful and supportive of my colleagues, many of whom I consider my closest friends. I never understood my communications to be unwanted and I would have never thought they could possibly have made anyone feel uncomfortable. If anyone ever felt that way about their interaction with me, I am truly sorry.”
And while Sony wouldn’t comment directly on Barrett’s case, a spokesperson did add “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.”
This isn’t the first time we’ve heard reports of a toxic culture brewing within Bungie. Hopefully Barrett’s removal is a sign of changing winds.
Source – [Bloomberg]