The former game director of Marathon has filed a lawsuit against Bungie, claiming damages of $200 million
Chris Barrett, who formerly led the development of Marathon, is set to sue his former employers — Bungie and Sony. He accuses the companies of deliberately destroying his reputation and career.
Marathon
Recall that in March 2024, he left Bungie after 25 years of service. Six months later, it was reported that the reason for his departure was allegations of sexual harassment from at least eight female employees, as reported by Bloomberg, citing the victims.
Now Barrett has decided to share his own version of events. In the lawsuit, he claims that Sony's harassment investigation was a fabrication, masking an even "dirtier plot". But let's take it step by step.
Barrett's Version of Events
It all began when he learned of the internal investigation completely unexpectedly — while he was on leave due to mental health reasons. He was subsequently required to communicate with Sony's lawyer alone, without any legal representation.
During the conversation, no specific allegations were made — not a single hint of workplace harassment, inappropriate messaging, or discrimination. All the questions were solely about professional communication. Moreover, the Sony representative asked Barrett about certain correspondences with colleagues but refused to show them.
Shortly after this, Barrett simply received a message on Teams stating that he had "committed gross misconduct," which would lead to his dismissal. No details, no chance to defend himself. This "cunning plan" culminated in the Bloomberg publication, allegedly instigated by Bungie and Sony.
The Real Reasons Behind the Scandal
Why did the companies choose to dispose of a loyal employee in such an unscrupulous manner? Barrett is convinced that Sony decided to blame him for its own failures.
The lawsuit states that the acquisition of Bungie was a "disaster" for the Japanese company: cash flow issues, missed deadlines, and the Marathon bet not paying off — the announcement was criticized by the public. So the former project leader became the perfect scapegoat. Although he claims he had nothing to do with business processes, handling only the creative aspects of development.
Moreover, having such a serious reason for dismissal allowed the management to avoid paying the developer the $45 million he was owed. As reported by Barrett, under his employment agreement with Bungie, he owned 336,000 "founder's shares" and an additional 48,000 common shares.
Finally, the loud accusation against Barrett allowed the company to cover up the harassment incidents within Bungie, which allegedly cares about all complaints. The lawsuit revealed that one of the top managers regularly showed up at work drunk, sent explicit photos to staff, shared details of his personal life, and commented on the appearance of female employees and more.
Another such instance involved an unnamed company founder, who, according to Barrett, constantly made sexist and racist jokes like "a woman's place is at home, barefoot and pregnant." And these individuals still hold their positions.
"Barrett became the target of bullying and ridicule, lost friends, career prospects, and experienced family discord. His dream of creating his own gaming company — once quite realistic for the creator of iconic games — was destroyed," the lawsuit states. He estimated the reputational damage at $200 million.
Bungie and Sony have yet to comment on the matter.
