There’s another shakeup happening at Bungie, this time near the top of the studio. On Friday, Marathon game director Joseph Ziegler announced that he is leaving Bungie.
His last day is today, July 17.
Ziegler Leaves After Nearly Four Years
Ziegler joined Bungie as game director in December 2022 after spending the prior 12 years with Riot Games. He was brought in to lead the development of Marathon, but will now be leaving for a new opportunity.
“I’ll be heading to something new, somewhere else, and will update you on where and what soon,” he said.
Taking over as game director on Marathon is Del Chafe III. Chafe III has been with Bungie for 15 years and has been the assistant game director on Marathon since April 2024. Also leading Marathon into the future is creative director Julia Nardin.
“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 said. “I’m proud of them and I’m excited to see them helm the future of this crazy little world we’ve created together.”
Ziegler says that despite his departure, Marathon is in a good place and that there are plenty of updates coming to the game.
“The mission will continue in new and surprising ways so stay tuned for what this team has in store for you!” he said. “It’s been a pleasure seeing all the stories you’ve created, all the clever ways you’ve found ways to murder robots and one another.”
Ziegler leaving the studio comes less than a month after Bungie announced layoffs that impacted at least 300 employees. Even studio head Justin Truman would leave the company.
What do you think of Marathon game director Joseph Ziegler leaving Bungie? Leave your thoughts down in the comments, or join the discussion in the official Insider Gaming Discord.
Mike has been covering the gaming industry since 2012, and has reported on some of the largest events in the industry while also working as an investigative reporter. Outside of…
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Bungie will not shut down if they do it will make Sony look bad to shareholders and Sony look furious at PlayStation. Need to get to work on studio shut downs Team Asobi, Housemarque, Sucker Punch, Bend, Nixxes, Firesprite, and Media Molecule.
I am finding it hard to believe that someone thinks that Sucker Punch and Asobi (That is the Astro Bot studio correct?) should be on the list of studios that Sony should look at shutting down. I agree with all the rest, and I would also add Bungie onto the list as well. They are never going to make a Destiny level game again after all the layoffs and all the founding crew leaving by now. Why would you give Sucker Punch the boot? I thought Yotei ended up selling like 3 million copies and was made with a budget of $60 million… that is the best profit margin Sony has seen from a first party studio in a while. Astro Bot was made for very cheap as well.