The art director of Bungie’s Marathon, Joseph Cross, has suddenly left the studio. Just recently, the game was announced to be released in March 2026.
The FPS multiplayer shooter, revealed in 2023, is a new entry in the Marathon series, and a first-party title for PlayStation under Bungie. Originally set to launch on September 23, 2025, it was delayed due to a number of controversies, including, and most notably, art plagiarism. This month, Bungie re-revealed the game with new gameplay and promised it would ship in March 2026. However, one of the key members of the development team has left.
Joseph Cross, Marathon’s Art Director, Has Left Bungie Ahead of Release
Earlier in the day, The Game Post found that the Destiny 2 alum has updated his LinkedIn and got rid of the ‘present’ status for Bungie, showing 2025. Now, in an article from Kotaku, the outlet confirmed that Joseph Cross, Marathon’s art director, has left the studio. No official comment from Joseph Cross or Bungie has been made as of writing.
While unclear why Joseph left Marathon, there are a few different possibilities. One could be that his work was simply done and his direction wasn’t needed anymore. Another possibility is that he just didn’t want to continue working at Bungie. The Destiny studio has been in hot water recently with several lawsuits and less-than-stellar sales. Either way, it’s likely, if true, that a new art director will be named soon, especially coming up to its March 2026 launch window.
What do you think of Marathon’s art director leaving? Do you think the game will release in March 2026? Leave a comment below and on the official Insider Gaming Discord.
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How is this coming out? Sony will just close Bungie and take the L. Haven next and more closures under them.