Marathon Ex-Director Settles Defamation Lawsuit Against Bungie, Sony
The settlement resolves a dispute over whether Bungie and Sony fabricated misconduct allegations to avoid paying contractual compensation, and it grants Barrett credit on a game he helped direct.
Key Facts
- Christopher Barrett was fired from Bungie in March 2024 for sexual harassment allegations.
- Christopher Barrett filed a lawsuit in December 2024 seeking over $200 million in damages.
- The lawsuit was dismissed by the Delaware Court of Chancery in December 2025 and refiled in January 2026.
- A settlement was reached in July 2026; terms were not disclosed.
- Christopher Barrett's name was added to Marathon's credits as Original Game Director.
Reporting from 3 sources: Automaton, GameBusiness.jp, Game Spark.
Christopher Barrett, the former director of Bungie's upcoming extraction shooter Marathon, has settled the defamation and breach-of-contract lawsuit he filed against Sony Interactive Entertainment and Bungie in December 2024. Barrett had sought over $200 million (approximately 30 billion yen) in damages, alleging that the companies fabricated sexual harassment allegations to avoid paying him share compensation and retention bonuses owed after Sony's acquisition of Bungie in 2022. The lawsuit was initially dismissed by the Delaware Court of Chancery in December 2025 on jurisdictional grounds, and Barrett refiled in the Delaware Superior Court in January 2026. On July 9, 2026, a joint statement from all parties announced the settlement. Terms were not disclosed, but Barrett said he was "very satisfied with the result." As part of the resolution, his name has been added to the credits of Marathon as "Original Game Director." Barrett was fired in March 2024 after an internal investigation found he had made inappropriate comments about female subordinates' appearances and relationships.
Barrett's lawsuit began in December 2024, shortly after his dismissal. He claimed that when Bungie was acquired by Sony in 2022, he had an agreement to receive share compensation and retention bonuses totaling approximately $45 million (about 7.3 billion yen) in installments through 2026. After receiving payments in 2022 and 2023, the remaining balance was scheduled from 2024 to 2026. Barrett alleged that SIE and Bungie fabricated the misconduct allegations to avoid paying the remainder and wrongfully terminated him.
In February 2025, SIE and Bungie filed a 128-page response detailing messages Barrett exchanged with female employees, arguing there was sufficient reason for dismissal. Barrett countered that the messages were taken out of context. The Delaware Court of Chancery dismissed the case in December 2025, ruling it was a monetary dispute outside its jurisdiction. Barrett refiled in January 2026 in the Delaware Superior Court. The settlement was announced about six months later.
Separately, Bungie recently conducted large-scale layoffs affecting most of the Destiny development team and part of the Marathon team. The settlement terms are confidential, but Barrett's statement on LinkedIn expressed satisfaction, and his credit as Original Game Director on Marathon was added.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 3 cited sources below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.