Marathon Game Director Joseph Ziegler Is Leaving Bungie
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
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
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