Overview
- Joe Ziegler announced that July 17, 2026 will be his last day at Bungie and said he is leaving to pursue a new opportunity.
- Ziegler said he is passing the Game Director role to Del Chafe III, who will lead Marathon together with Creative Director Julia Nardin.
- The leadership change follows weeks of turmoil at Bungie, including large layoffs and the winding down of Destiny 2’s live-service development.
- Marathon launched earlier in 2026 to positive notice from critics but drew recurring criticism for limited content, design shortcomings, and weak player retention.
- Bungie is reported to be testing an experimental PvE update next week and plans a full PvE mode in September as a bid to broaden Marathon’s appeal and stabilize the studio’s near-term prospects.