Bungie Faces Continued Departures as Marathon Art Director Joseph Cross Exits

Transformations at **Bungie** are ongoing. Just as the studio was about to finalize a new release window for **Marathon**, the art director, **Joseph Cross**, left the development team.

The news about **Cross’s** departure first emerged from an update on his LinkedIn profile, later confirmed by Kotaku journalists. **Cross** had been a concept artist for **Bungie** since the days of the original **Destiny**, and he returned to the studio in 2020 to help shape the visual direction of **Marathon**.

The reasons behind **Cross’s** departure remain unclear. In a brief conversation with Kotaku, he stated that it was his own choice. He later expressed pride in the project and the achievements of the team over the past six years. It’s possible that **Cross’s** exit was influenced by a recent plagiarism scandal, which, according to the affected artist, has now been resolved.

The release of **Marathon** is scheduled for March 2026 on PC (via [Steam](https://stopgame.ru/to?https%3A%2F%2Fstore.steampowered.com%2Fapp%2F3065800%2FMarathon%2F%3Fl%3Drussian)), PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series, with a complete Russian localization.