Marathon art director and Bungie veteran Joseph Cross announced his departure from the company just months before the extraction shooter's 2026 release.
First spotted by The Game PostCross has updated his LinkedIn and social media profiles to signal the end of his 14-year tenure at the renowned sci-fi first-person shooter studio. He later announced this on Channel X with a farewell statement.
Cross wrote: “I’m incredibly proud of the visual world we created for Marathon. Getting support of this magnitude for something extraordinary is rare, and Bungie's art team is the best in the business. I will enjoy the game as a fan along with all of you. A huge thank you to everyone who has supported us throughout this process.”
This sudden change in creative leadership follows the plagiarism scandal that rocked Marathon after The shooter was found to have used the work of artist Antireal without permission.. Earlier this month, Antireal said the situation had been resolved “to my satisfaction.”
Kotaku's Ethan Gach contacted Cross to ask whether his departure from Bungie was of his own volition or a consequence of the aforementioned plagiarism scandal. Cross responded by stating that it was his own choice and also, “I'm very proud of the project and what the team has achieved over the last six years.”
This comes shortly after Bungie's fresh gameplay deep dive at Marathon, which showed off a giant overhaul of the game. It now features solo queue, remote chat, more challenging UESC PvE enemies, and more.
The game's slogan appears to have also changed.. The Marathon's slogan used to be: “Escape will make me God,” but now it looks like this: “Death is the first step.” Why this changed has not been officially explained, but it's worth noting that after the plagiarism scandal, a sort of popular joke appeared online in which detractors of the game wrote: “Plagiarism will make me a God.”
Marathon is scheduled for release in March 2026.All eyes are on whether Bungie can change the game's public reception and achieve great success after a rocky start.
