UPDATE July 18, 2026, 8:07 a.m. PT: Bungie has issued a statement following the departure of now-former Marathon game director Joseph Ziegler.
The studio took to its development team X/Twitter account to share a few words about the project lead’s departure and what it means for its sci-fi extraction shooter going forward. It began by thanking him for his work, while reassuring fans that Marathon will continue to grow.
“Trust comes from being consistent – both in how we communicate and in whether players can actually feel the improvements we’re talking about.
“We plan to maintain transparency through Marathon Dev Team accounts, and our goal is to keep the conversation flowing. Our next stop is the Mid-Season 2 update and Vault Breaker event early next week, but beyond that, we have a lot to talk about for Season 3 and the future of Marathon.”
Bungie promised to share more updates soon. In the meantime, you can see its full statement below.
Hey all,
We can’t thank Joe enough for his leadership and contributions over the years. We’ve seen some questions about how things will go during this transition, and we wanted to call back to a post we made earlier this week:
Trust comes from being consistent – both in how we…— Marathon Development Team (@MarathonDevTeam) July 17, 2026
ORIGINAL STORY: Marathon game director Joseph Ziegler has announced he is leaving Bungie.
The project lead, who has been with the company since December 2022, published a statement regarding his departure on X/Twitter. Ziegler said that today, July 17, 2026, is his last day overseeing Sony’s extraction shooter, with assistant game director Del Chafe III, who will “guide the game forward alongside creative director Julia Nardin,” stepping in as his replacement.
“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,” he 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.”
Zielger did not explain the reasoning for his decision but promised he’s heading “to something new, somewhere else,” promising to reveal more “soon.” It’s unknown how this may affect Marathon development as it continues through Season 2 and closer to the launch of Season 3 this September.
“I just want to say a deeply heartfelt thank you to all of you for supporting me and Marathon in our windy mission to bring a dark and terrifying space survival frontier to your screen,” Zielger added. “The mission will continue in new and surprising ways so stay tuned for what this team has in store for you! 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.
“Hopefully as I move onto new things, you’ll join me for those adventures as well. Much love to the Marathon community and to all my friends and colleagues at Bungie. May we cross paths again. Keep it weird, keep it real <3.”
Despite a group of dedicated fans sticking with Marathon since its March 2026 launch, it’s been a rough few months for the game. In May, Sony reported a $765 million impairment loss tied to Bungie’s underperformance. Even as the studio has teased big ideas for the future and plans for story content for “the next few years,” many online were quick to write off the extraction shooter, partially due to its proximity to the announcement that Destiny 2 support had come to an end.
Sony announced “significant” layoffs for Bungie last month, saying at the time that the cuts impacted “most of the Destiny team and some Marathon team members.” It was a move that reportedly affected nearly 300 staff at its Bellevue, Washington location alone. Last week, Sony settled a lawsuit with former Marathon game director Christopher Barrett, who was fired following accusations of sexual misconduct.
IGN called Marathon “Amazing” in our 9/10 review. For more while we wait to see what its future holds, you can see why one former Destiny community manager is pushing Bungie fans to support the sci-fi shooter.
Michael Cripe is a freelance writer with IGN. He’s best known for his work at sites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be sure to give him a follow on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).
