Chris Barrett was one of the key contributors to games like Marathon and Destiny 2, but he suddenly left the company in April 2023. He then sued the studio for allegedly receiving an incomplete bonus for the acquisition by Sony. Now there is an outcome.
How did the lawsuit turn out for Barrett? The former director of Marathon speaks out on X. After two long years, he and Sony or Bungie reached an out-of-court settlement.
According to him, the outcome was very satisfactory
. He refrains from disclosing the amount or conditions the two parties agreed upon.
I am very satisfied with the outcome, and I am grateful to everyone who stood by me. Closing this chapter allows me to focus on what’s next in my gaming journey, and I look forward to what lies ahead.
The only information in the parties’ statement is the inclusion of Barrett’s name in the credits of Marathon. After all, he was the game director of the extraction shooter, and this should be reflected.
Barrett demanded bonus payment, fired for inappropriate behavior
Why did the lawsuit occur? Barrett was terminated in April 2023. The reason for this was alleged sexually charged text messages such as “truth or dare” games with female employees, which reportedly made the affected individuals uncomfortable. Additionally, he is said to have abused his position of power and used promotions as bait.
What did Barrett demand? Barrett filed a $200 million lawsuit, as he wanted to restore his reputation. He claimed that he was entitled to $45 million due to the acquisition by Sony, but had only received $1.8 million. Moreover, he was allegedly used as a scapegoat for business failures.
Since he is very satisfied with the outcome, we can assume that a large portion of this amount was awarded to him.
Barrett worked for Bungie for almost 25 years and was significantly involved in various games developed by the company. Had he not been terminated in 2023, it could have been possible that he would have disappeared with the latest mass layoffs: Bungie starts “restructuring”, meaning: mass layoffs in the Destiny 2 team
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