It is well known that not everything is going well at Bungie at the moment. Now a report has surfaced that the director of Marathon was fired in the spring for misconduct.
Layoffs at Bungie are not uncommon these days, but one stands out. According to new reports, Marathon Director Chris Barrett was not a victim of cost-cutting, but was simply fired due to inappropriate behavior toward female employees.
According to the Report by renowned Bloomberg journalist Jason Schreier At least eight female employees complained about Barrett’s behavior.
The subsequent Bungie investigation found that Barrett described lower-level female employees as attractive and asked them to play “Truth or Dare.” In addition, Barrett flaunted his “wealth and power” within the company and suggested he could help them advance their careers. Messages sent to Schreier also indicate that Barrett was very flirtatious and asked women to meet him.
“Barrett befriended women in various departments of the studio and then sent them a barrage of text messages that blurred the lines between professional and personal,” Schreier writes.
Bloomberg has also received a statement from Barrett: “I believe I have always acted with integrity and respected and supported my colleagues, many of whom I consider to be my closest friends. I have never felt that my communications were unwelcome and it never occurred to me that they might have made anyone uncomfortable. If their interaction with me made anyone feel that way, I am sincerely sorry.”
Barrett has held various positions at Bungie since 1999. Bungie employees were apparently not informed of the reasons for his dismissal. Bungie owner Sony has not commented specifically on the allegations, apart from a brief statement saying that it takes complaints of misconduct very seriously and will immediately investigate them and take appropriate action.
Bungie, developer of Destiny 2, has announced a new extraction shooter called Marathon.
