Barrett alleges he was fired from Bungie without cause, and that it and Sony are withholding a $45 million employee payout from him.
Christopher Barrett, director on Bungie's Marathon before his firing in March, has filed a lawsuit against his former employer and Sony. Per VentureBeat, he argues he was fired so the two companies could avoid granting him a $45 million payout from his employment agreement.
Barrett was let go from the Destiny 2 developer for alleged misconduct and "behaving inappropriately" toward at least eight women in various departments at the studio. In August, Bloomberg published a report alleging he told female staffers he could help them "advance their careers" and sent them a "barrage" of unwanted text messages.
At the time, Barrett told the outlet he was "always respectful and supportive" of his coworkers, and gave an apology to anyone he made uncomfortable with his behavior. Prior to being dismissed, he'd been with Bungie since 1999. He was a designer on several games, Destiny 2 included, and served as a top-level executive at the studio.
In the suit, he alleges Bungie and Sony "deliberately destroyed [his] reputation. [...] Defendants did not care that none of it was true; they had blatant motivations for their brazen scheme."
"Barrett was never asked whether he had ever engaged in inappropriate sexual conduct...or whether he ever retaliated against a co-worker for rebuffing his advances or discriminated against a female colleague on the basis of her sex," it continues. "Barrett was not asked those questions because Barrett did not engage in, and has not been accused of, any such conduct."
In a separate statement, Barrett said he has "endured rampant speculation, unfounded attacks on my reputation, and innuendo about what happened behind the scenes to cause me to be fired after 25 years of service." He filed his suit with the aim of "holding Bungie and Sony accountable for their conduct and the damage that has been done to my reputation and my career."
"I am confident that the facts are on my side and look forward to clearing my name in the legal process," he concluded.
This is the latest development in a turbulent year for Bungie, which laid off 220 employees after June's Destiny 2: The Final Shape. Before that, employees alleged to IGN in 2021 that the studio had been tolerating a culture of sexism and sexual harassment.
Game Developer has reached out to Sony and Bungie for comment, and will update when a response is given.
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