Christopher Barrett, the former director of Bungie's upcoming game Marathon, has settled his lawsuit against Sony and Bungie, drawing a close to a legal dispute that followed his quiet departure from the studio. Barrett was fired after several female Bungie staff accused him of inappropriate behaviour, and he subsequently sued for breach of contract and defamation. The settlement matters as it resolves a high-profile case that had exposed embarrassing internal details for both companies at a turbulent time for Bungie.

Barrett's departure was confirmed in March 2024, with Bloomberg reporting in August 2024 that he had been dismissed following the accusations. His lawsuit claimed the true motive for his firing was to avoid paying him a bonus of more than $45 million, and during proceedings Sony revealed some of the inappropriate text messages he had allegedly sent to staff. Announcing the settlement on X and LinkedIn, Barrett said he was "very satisfied" with the outcome, while a joint statement noted his 25 years of contributions and confirmed his name has been added to Marathon's credits as its original game director. Neither side disclosed whether any financial award was involved, and the news follows Bungie's recent layoffs of at least 292 people after it halted new development on Destiny 2.