Former Bungie employee and Marathon boss Christopher Barrett was fired in 2023. Now he claims Sony and the studio behind Destiny 2 destroyed his reputation and is going to court to clear his name.
Who is Chris Barrett? The developer Christopher Barrett was a veteran at Bungie. He has been a part of the team since 1999 and has worked on various projects including Halo and Destiny at an executive level.
When the new extraction shooter “Marathon” was announced by Bungie, Barrett was supposed to take on the role of game director and lead the development processes. However, it was later announced that his position was then replaced by Joe Ziegler.
At the time it was said that it was a “creative renewal” to justify the decision, but according to renowned journalist Jason Schreier, different facts emerged.
According to statements from female developers, Barrett behaved inappropriately towards his colleagues. Unwanted advances were made, which then led to his termination. Now Barrett is back with a lawsuit against Sony and Bungie. The studios had made a plan to deny him the money he was awarded.
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The lawsuit speaks of harsh allegations against Bungie
Why is there a lawsuit now? On his X account, Christopher Barrett reports on the months after his termination from Bungie. He faced “unfounded attacks” and “rampant speculation” despite being loyal to the studio for 25 years.
Barrett says he now wants to restore his reputation and uncover the truth. He claims the two studios were looking for a reason to fire him because he was supposed to be paid $45 million after taking over Sony – but he only got $1.8 of that, according to venturebeat.com.
In the lawsuit, Barrett also shares various experiences he had during his time at Bungie. A high-ranking executive is said to have sent “sexually suggestive material, including lewd photos, texts about his sex life (including graphic descriptions of certain sexual acts), and texts about the appearance of women who work for Bungie.”
Furthermore, founding members are said to have often made sexist and racist comments in group meetings. He himself denies his involvement in this behavior and has even reprimanded employees. However, according to him, these were not punished.
We have asked Bungie for a statement on Barrett’s allegations and will add this to the article should the studio comment on the matter.
So far little is known about the case. Much of it is based on Chris’ statements and the indictment. However, Barrett sees the lawsuit as an opportunity to clear his name. It remains to be seen whether the case will go to trial.
Bungie has been hit several times in recent years by setbacks and major waves of layoffs, with which the company primarily wanted to increase the studio’s efficiency. You can read more about this on MeinMMO: Sony explains why Bungie was hit with layoffs