Joe Ziegler, the game director of Bungie’s extraction shooter Marathon, has confirmed he’s left the studio – four months after the game’s launch in March.
Ziegler, the former Valorant game director who joined Bungie towards the end of Marathon’s development, announced his departure in a post on social media this weekend. He confirmed that Del Chafe III, previously assistant game director, and Julia Nardin, creative director, will take over leadership of the project.
“Both of them have been operating in a strong leadership capacity for the team and are ready to guide Marathon into the next chapter with an even better and brighter future,” Ziegler wrote. He added that he’ll be “heading to something new, somewhere else, and will update you on where and what soon.”
A rough few months for Bungie
Ziegler’s exit lands at a difficult moment for the studio. Bungie confirmed it was laying off “most” of the Destiny 2 team and some Marathon developers, and officially ended support for Destiny 2 last month. It’s the kind of turbulence that makes a voluntary director departure feel like a particularly significant signal – not unlike the organisational instability seen across live-service esports more broadly right now.
Ziegler also isn’t the first Marathon director to leave under complicated circumstances. His predecessor as the game’s original director, Christopher Barrett – a Bungie veteran of more than 25 years – was fired in 2024 for alleged misconduct, before settling a lawsuit with Sony that resulted in his name being inserted into the game’s credits.
What’s next for Marathon
Marathon is estimated to have sold over 2 million copies. Nardin has previously outlined plans for a years-long story framework – so there’s still a roadmap in place. Del Chafe III and Nardin will be the ones steering it now, with the community watching closely to see how Marathon’s live-service trajectory holds up under new leadership. How other games plan their long-term seasonal content will offer an interesting benchmark for what Bungie needs to deliver next.