Gaming

Fired Marathon director says he's settled lawsuit with Sony

Jul 09, 2026 | 5 min read

Christopher Barrett, who was fired by Sony for misconduct allegations, now has his name on Marathon's credits.

Content notification on descriptions of sexual harassment

Christopher Barrett, the former game director of Marathon, says he has reached an agreement with developer Bungie and its parent company, Sony, to resolve a lawsuit about his "unfounded" firing, following misconduct allegations.

Via his personal account on social media, Barrett says he is "very satisfied with," the outcome and is "grateful to everyone" who stood by him.

In late 2024, Bloomberg reported that Barrett had been fired in March of that year following a series of misconduct allegations. Barrett, who had previously served as director on Marathon and held a seat on the Bungie board before Sony's acquisition, was reportedly accused by at least eight women of "behaving inappropriately" towards them in the workplace.

He allegedly "called lower-level female employees attractive, asked them to play truth-or-dare and made references to his wealth and power within the studio," suggesting he could help "advance their careers."

In addition, sources speaking to Bloomberg claim he befriended several women across various departments within the studio. He then reportedly sent a "barrage" of texts that "blurred the lines between professional and personal."

Then, in December of 2024, Barrett sued Sony and Bungie, alleging he was fired without cause, and that both companies were withholding a $45 million payout from him. In the suit, he alleged Bungie and Sony "deliberately destroyed [his] reputation. [...] Defendants did not care that none of it was true; they had blatant motivations for their brazen scheme."

The legal battle continued in February 2025, with Sony reportedly pushing back against the claims levied by Barrett, looking to dismiss six of the seven counts in the lawsuit. Sony's response counters Barrett's accusations, saying the investigation against him revealed his "consistent" behavior toward the unnamed employees.

"He targeted a lower-level, female employee he wasn’t working with directly, initially engaged in friendly conversation, and progressively pushed boundaries with the employee by making subtle references to her physical appearance or expressing his interest in her romantically," the response said at the time. "Barrett attempted to create an unprofessional level of intimacy with his victims."

The response goes on to allege Barrett frequently brought up "inappropriate topics" toward these women, such as their physical appearance, and would text them "at all hours of the day and night." Several texts are cited in the response, and were further corroborated by Bloomberg's Jason Schreier.

Barrett included a "parties' joint statement" in his recent social media post, which reads:

"The litigation between Sony Interactive Entertainment, Bungie, and Christopher Barrett has been settled. For 26 years, Mr Barrett contributed to some of Bungie's most successful games. Mr. Barrett was the original game director for Marathon and his name has been added to the game's credits to reflect that."

"Closing this chapter allows me to focus my attention on what's next in my gaming journey, and I look forward to what lies ahead," Barrett's post concludes.

Game Developer has contacted Sony for more information on the matter.

Diego Nicolás Argüello is a freelance journalist and critic from Argentina. Video games helped him to learn English, so now he covers them for places like The New York Times, NPR, Rolling Stone, and more. He also runs Into the Spine, a site dedicated to fostering and supporting new writers, and co-hosted Turnabout Breakdown, a podcast about the Ace Attorney series. He’s most likely playing a rhythm game as you read this.

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Source: Diego Argüello · https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/fired-marathon-director-says-he-s-settled-misconduct-lawsuit-with-sony