Summary
Bungie’s next game,Marathon, has reportedly undergone major changes in recent months, including its game director being replaced withValorant’s former director, who has been with Bungie since 2022. Sources also claim that the direction ofBungie’s next title has slightly shifted.
Earlierleaks surroundingMarathon’sdevelopment revealed its extraction shooter-like approach that sees players enter a map, explore and loot it, complete missions, and attempt to extract safely, all while battling against AI and human enemies. Over recent years, the genre has proven to be a hit among multiplayer shooter fans, exemplified by games likeEscape from TarkovandHunt: Showdown. Following the recent shifts in Bungie’s creative leadership, this approach seems to still be in place but with some minor adjustments.
IGN reportsthatMarathondirector Christopher Barnett was replaced with Joe Ziegler, who worked for Riot Games until 2022 where he served asValorant’s game director. Shortly after IGN reached out to Bungie for comment, Ziegler confirmed the news on Twitter by explaining he had been working asMarathon’s game director for the last nine months. Bungie is reportedly undergoing additional shakeups involvingMarathon’s creative leadership, but the other changes are unspecified. These adjustments have apparently resulted in some slight shifts toMarathon’s gameplay, including the replacement of custom characters with a cast of heroes. While the other gameplay changes are unspecified at this time, Ziegler’s tweet says that he’s “excited to share … more info on the game as we get closer and closer to bringing it to all of you.”
Bungie Replaces Marathon’s Game Director
Sources also claim that “nothing adds up” regarding Bungie’s budget and action will inevitably need to be taken to curb costs unlessDestiny 2’s The Final Shape expansiondoes exceedingly well. This rumor and others have led to growing fears within Bungie that additional layoffs could occur following the expansion’s release in June.
Back in October,Bungie was hit with a round of layoffsthat saw about 100 employees let go. Unaffected employees had their benefits reduced, with both of these events reportedly leading to decreased morale within Bungie. This was also accompanied by news thatMarathonhad been delayed to 2025.
ABungie job listingfrom 2023 hinted thatMarathonwill use a revamped version ofDestiny’s Tiger engine. However, other than this info and the previously mentioned rumors, very little is known about the major studio’s next game.
