Bungie's Next Game Is Reportedly Getting a Major Shake-Up

gamerant.com:

Bungie's next game, Marathon, has reportedly undergone major changes in recent months, including its game director being replaced with Valorant's former director, who has been with Bungie since 2022. Sources also claim that the direction of Bungie's next title has slightly shifted.

Earlier leaks surrounding Marathon's development revealed its extraction shooter-like approach that sees players enter a map, explore and loot it, complete missions, and attempt to extract safely, all while battling against AI and human enemies. Over recent years, the genre has proven to be a hit among multiplayer shooter fans, exemplified by games like Escape from Tarkov and Hunt: Showdown. Following the recent shifts in Bungie's creative leadership, this approach seems to still be in place but with some minor adjustments.

IGN reports that Marathon director Christopher Barnett was replaced with Joe Ziegler, who worked for Riot Games until 2022 where he served as Valorant's game director. Shortly after IGN reached out to Bungie for comment, Ziegler confirmed the news on Twitter by explaining he had been working as Marathon's game director for the last nine months. Bungie is reportedly undergoing additional shakeups involving Marathon's creative leadership, but the other changes are unspecified. These adjustments have apparently resulted in some slight shifts to Marathon's gameplay, including the replacement of custom characters with a cast of heroes. While the other gameplay changes are unspecified at this time, Ziegler's tweet says that he's «excited to share… more info on the game as we get closer and closer to bringing it to all of you.»

Sources also claim that «nothing adds up» regarding Bungie's budget and action will inevitably need to be taken to curb costs unlessDestiny 2's The Final Shape expansion does exceedingly well. This rumor and others have led to growing fears within Bungie that additional layoffs could occur following the expansion's release in June.

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