Marathon's Senior Art Director leaves Bungie ahead of its release

Marathon's Senior Art Director, Joseph Cross, has left Bungie ahead of the game's global launch. The news had been speculated about earlier in a blog by The Game Post, based on recent changes in his LinkedIn profile and X account bio. The move was later confirmed by Kotaku, who were able to reach out to Cross.

For those unaware, Joseph Cross is a veteran in the gaming industry. In addition to Marathon, he has worked as a lead concept artist on the fan-favorite FPS Destiny 2.

This article examines the news surrounding the departure of Marathon's Senior Art Director from Bungie ahead of the game's release.

Bungie veteran no longer serving as Marathon's Senior Art Director

As mentioned, Joseph Cross, former Senior Art Director for Marathon, has left Bungie. He reportedly resigned from his post sometime in late 2025, having held that position since 2018. According to his LinkedIn profile, he worked at Bungie for over a decade, where he had previously served as a Lead Concept Artist.

Also read: "Marathon is just Concord 2": Fans fear for Bungie's latest title before its release

As further proof, Joseph Cross's X account bio was recently updated from "Franchise Art Director at Bungie" to "Art Director & Artist Marathon." His move was further confirmed by news outlet Kotaku, to whom Cross stated that it was his decision to leave Bungie.

While Marathon is nearing its global release in March 2026, it had a rough start. The game's Alpha build was accused of using stolen artwork, where several design assets were used without approval from the original artist @4nt1r34l. When the news broke out, the game received significant backlash on media platforms like X and YouTube, with fans questioning the integrity of the development team. The developers acknowledged the wrongdoing, and Joseph Cross came forward with a personal apology for the plagiarized art.

Also read: ARC Raiders sets a high bar for extraction shooters, Bungie's Marathon has serious competition

As mentioned earlier, Cross recently made a voluntary decision to leave his position as the Senior Art Director for Marathon. However, he remains connected with the community on X, where he constantly reacts to content updates about the game.

Following the Alpha test, several major changes were made to the upcoming title. The most notable were the addition of proximity chat, a new sci-fi atmosphere, graphical improvements, and the introduction of solo queues. More gameplay and quality-of-life updates were detailed in the Bungie ViDoc on Marathon's official YouTube channel, where the developers spoke on the future of Marathon and what players can expect in the coming months.

Read more: Marathon release window confirmed: Price and gameplay details revealed

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Edited by Niladri Roy