The investigation confirmed that Barrett made advances and suggested that, thanks to his power within Bungie, he could help advance the female employees' careers. Bloomberg also shared a statement from Barrett:

"I feel that I have always conducted myself with integrity and been respectful and supportive of my colleagues, many of whom I consider my closest friends. I never understood my communications to be unwanted and I would have never thought they could possibly have made anyone feel uncomfortable. If anyone ever felt that way about their interaction with me, I am truly sorry."

Interestingly, other Bungie employees weren't initially told of Barrett's departure circumstances. They were led to believe that he was on a sabbatical year, but that wasn't actually the case.

Barrett was replaced by former Valorant Game Director Joe Ziegler.

While this was one person leaving the Marathon team, more problems are bubbling under the surface, at least according to insider Tom Henderson, who tweeted that the game is 'cooked' based on his info.

The game was initially meant to launch in 2024, but Bungie delayed it to 2025, alongside the delay of Destiny 2: The Final Shape. However, it has been postponed.

Marathon's design is ambitious. The developer plans to create a world of persistent zones where player actions actually matter and influence everyone else in the game. Perhaps they're having problems carrying that off.