Joseph Cross, the artwork director on Bungie’s upcoming extraction shooter Marathon, is leaving simply months earlier than the sport’s launch. Cross’s exit comes simply after the sport was lastly introduced for a March 2026 launch, following an indefinite delay prompted by underwhelming participant suggestions on the shooter’s alpha exams.
Cross’s departure from Bungie was tipped by an replace to his LinkedIn web page and social accounts, and he confirmed to Kotaku that it was his alternative to depart. “I’m tremendous happy with the challenge and what the group completed over the past six years,” he mentioned, reflecting on his exit.
After years of labor on Future as lead idea artist, Cross returned to Bungie in 2020 to assist form the visible fashion for Marathon. The extraction shooter is trying to be certainly one of Bungie’s most visually distinctive titles, with a daring aesthetic named by Cross as “graphic realism.”
Marathon’s distinctive artwork fashion grew to become some extent of controversy earlier this 12 months when graphic artist Antireal accused Bungie of artwork theft, tagging each Bungie and Joseph Cross in a callout put up on X. Bungie mentioned the stolen belongings originated with an artist who was not with the studio. Antireal has since mentioned that the difficulty has been resolved to her satisfaction.
Cross has now posted about his departure on X, reiterating the delight he has in his work on Marathon. “Getting help at this scale for one thing a bit completely different is uncommon, and the artwork group at Bungie is the most effective within the biz. I will be having fun with enjoying the sport as a fan with all of you.”
Marathon is because of launch in March 2026 for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Collection X. The sport can be priced at $40 at launch, the identical value as its fashionable competitor Arc Raiders.