Bungie is a Sony Interactive Entertainment studio managing two separate shooter properties, Marathon and Destiny, after layoffs cut most of the Destiny team and part of the Marathon team in June 2026. Marathon, released in March 2026, remains supported and upcoming, with Del Chafe III as its game director and a major update now set for December 8, 2026.
Bungie spent the middle of 2026 managing two tentpole shooter franchises in different states. Destiny 2 concluded its live service in June after development ended June 9, and SIE and Bungie announced layoffs on June 25 that reduced most of the Destiny team, part of the Marathon team, and SIE staff supporting Bungie. Bungie said Destiny 2 had not met expectations in recent years and that the current structure could not sustain future plans. SIE Studio Business Group CEO Hermen Hulst described the cuts as the outcome of months of review. Affected staff were offered severance, career transition help, and where possible internal moves.
Attention then shifted to Marathon. Joe Ziegler, game director on the extraction shooter, left Bungie on July 17. Del Chafe III succeeded him, with creative director Julia Nardin also named on the team. That same month, Christopher Barrett, the game's former director, settled a defamation and breach-of-contract lawsuit against Sony and Bungie; terms were not disclosed, and his name was added to Marathon's credits as Original Game Director.
In September, Bungie postponed a major Marathon update planned for September 22 and folded its content into the Symbiosis update on December 8. That material includes permanent PvE content, a Perimeter map revamp, a new Runner shell, a social space, an experimental TDM mode, and a new player intro overhaul. An October 6 wipe will address gear gaps from Season 2. Bungie said it will stop tying major updates to fixed season deadlines. A rumor that the Marathon and Destiny IPs would merge was publicly denied by Nardin on X, who said the claim was false and that the two share Bungie's DNA but remain separate.
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Julia Nardin, a creative director on Marathon who has worked on both Marathon and Destiny, said on X that a "leak" claiming the two IPs will be merged is false information. She said the two share much of Bungie's DNA but remain separate. The rumor spread from overseas message boards and Reddit after Destiny 2's development ended in June.
Bungie delayed a major Marathon update planned for September 22 and will fold its content into the Symbiosis update on December 8. The postponed material included permanent PvE content, a Perimeter map revamp, a new Runner shell, a social space, an experimental TDM mode, and a new player intro overhaul. Bungie also said it will stop tying major updates to fixed season deadlines, and an October 6 wipe will address gear gaps left by Season 2.
Joe Ziegler, game director of Bungie's extraction shooter Marathon, announced his departure from the studio on July 17. Del Chafe III will succeed him as game director. Ziegler, a former VALORANT director at Riot Games with a 12-year tenure there, joined Bungie in 2022. He stated he will move to a new role, with details to come. The Marathon development team will continue communication through its X account.
Christopher Barrett, the former director of Bungie's upcoming extraction shooter Marathon, has settled the defamation and breach-of-contract lawsuit he filed against Sony Interactive Entertainment and Bungie in December 2024. Barrett had sought over $200 million (approximately 30 billion yen) in damages, alleging that the companies fabricated sexual harassment allegations to avoid paying him share compensation and retention bonuses owed after Sony's acquisition of Bungie in 2022. The lawsuit was initially dismissed by the Delaware Court of Chancery in December 2025 on jurisdictional grounds, and Barrett refiled in the Delaware Superior Court in January 2026. On July 9, 2026, a joint statement from all parties announced the settlement. Terms were not disclosed, but Barrett said he was "very satisfied with the result." As part of the resolution, his name has been added to the credits of Marathon as "Original Game Director." Barrett was fired in March 2024 after an internal investigation found he had made inappropriate comments about female subordinates' appearances and relationships.
Sony Interactive Entertainment and its subsidiary Bungie announced on June 25, 2026, that they are conducting layoffs as part of an organizational restructuring. The reductions target most of the Destiny development team, part of the Marathon team, and SIE staff who support Bungie's operations. In a statement, Bungie said that Destiny 2 has not met expectations in recent years and that the current development structure cannot sustain future plans. The announcement follows the end of Destiny 2's development, which concluded with a final update on June 9, 2026. SIE CEO of the Studio Business Group Hermen Hulst explained in an internal email that the decision came after several months of review with Bungie's management regarding long-term direction, development priorities, and the studio's role in the broader portfolio. He added that multiple alternatives were considered before concluding that reductions were necessary. Marathon, which launched in March 2026, remains an important part of the SIE portfolio and will continue to receive support. Affected employees will receive severance, career transition assistance, and where possible, opportunities within SIE's global studio network. This is the third round of layoffs at Bungie in the past five years.
Former Bungie staff revealed that a dating sim for Destiny 2 was prototyped during internal game jams but rejected by management each year. The sim, styled after Dream Daddy, was pitched annually by developers but never approved. The disclosure comes as the game's live service concludes after a decade.