Marathon might be the most visually striking game Bungie’s ever made, and the art director overseeing it won’t be there when the game ships. Kotaku has learned that veteran artist Joseph Cross recently decided to depart the studio. The move comes just months ahead of the extraction shooter’s new March 2026 release date.
Evidence of Cross’ departure was first spotted earlier today by The Game Post. His LinkedIn profile was recently updated to give his senior art director position at Bungie an end date of 2025, and his account on X no longer references the studio at all. He was a lead concept artist at Bungie throughout the Destiny years and returned to the studio around 2020 to help shape the aesthetic for Marathon, the company’s newest multiplayer shooter.
Marathon Art Style (a short thread). First of all thanks to everyone for all the kind words and enthusiasm for the art style/direction in our announce trailer, it’s been amazing to see. This was the result of many talented artists working together, with the support of an amazing pic.twitter.com/ePPi41KA6c
— Joseph Cross (@josephacross) May 30, 2023
Cross told Kotaku that it was his decision to leave. “I’m super proud of the project and what the team accomplished over the last six years,” he said. He also recently shared a clip on X from Bungie’s latest ViDoc showing how Marathon has evolved following its delay after negative fan feedback from an alpha test earlier in the year.
A number of tweaks were made to the extraction shooter, including adding proximity chat, a feature that’s become a cornerstone of breakout hit Arc Raiders. Originally set to launch back in September, Marathon is now coming early next year.
The delay also followed fallout around allegations that some visual decals in the game had been lifted from someone outside the studio. “[The] Marathon art issue has been resolved with Bungie and Sony Interactive Entertainment to my satisfaction,” the artist announced earlier this month.
