Former Destiny 2 and Marathon reboot director Christopher Barrett is suing Bungie and Sony for $200m USD, claiming the businesses “intentionally destroyed [his] popularity by falsely, and publicly, insinuating…he had engaged in sexual misconduct.”
Word of Barrett’s departure from Bungie arrived earlier this yr, amid claims of a management shakeup. However, Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier later reported – after talking instantly with a few of these concerned – that Barrett was fired from the studio following an inside investigation into accusation of inappropriate behaviour filed by “at the very least eight” feminine staff.
At the time of Bloomberg’s report, Barrett responded, “I by no means understood my communications to be undesirable and I might have by no means thought they may presumably have made anybody really feel uncomfortable. If anybody ever felt that approach about their interplay with me, I’m actually sorry.”
Three months on, nonetheless, and Barrett is in a much more combative temper. He’s now filed a grievance with a Delaware courtroom accusing Sony and Bungie of “intentionally [destroying his] popularity by falsely, and publicly, insinuating they’d ‘investigated’ [him] and ‘discovered’ he had engaged in sexual misconduct.” The submitting continues, “[They] didn’t care that none of it was true. They had blatant motivations for his or her brazen scheme: (i) to keep away from paying Barrett the practically $50m he’s owed below his employment settlement, and (ii) to shift blame for and deflect consideration away from their large enterprise failures.”
Barrett goes onto allege the interior investigation into his behaviour was a “premeditated scheme” and a “sham”. To help these claims, the lawsuit argues Barrett was advised in regards to the investigation “out of the blue”; was “not suggested to convey counsel to the interview”; was “requested questions on communications together with his colleagues however was by no means proven” these communications; was “by no means requested whether or not he had ever engaged in inappropriate sexual conduct, whether or not he ever despatched inappropriate sexual or pornographic supplies to a co-worker, or whether or not he ever retaliated towards a co-worker for rebuffing his advances or discriminated towards a feminine colleague on the idea of her intercourse”, and was as an alternative “requested questions on run-of-the-mill communications.”
Barrett then alleges that three weeks after the investigation, Sony and Bungie revealed he was to be terminated for “gross misconduct” however “refused to elucidate additional”, and that he was advised “nothing he might say would make a distinction, regardless of by no means giving him an opportunity to have interaction with the allegations within the first place.” It’s additionally claimed, “No one ever advised Barrett who had made the choice to fireside him and even what conduct he was being fired for.”
Next comes the allegation that Bungie and Sony “wrongfully retained practically $50m owed to Barrett for his inventory in Bungie” following his termination, and that the defendants then “accomplished the Machiavellian trifecta by offering wildly deceptive statements to Bloomberg designed to: (i) deflect blame for Sony’s poorly performing $3.6b acquisition of Bungie and delays in online game manufacturing by casting shade on Barrett for his position on Marathon and (ii) shift blame for their very own public #MeToo issues by falsely insinuating that the accusations of extreme misconduct had been directed at Barrett, once they had not.”
The lawsuit insists, “Barrett didn’t do something remotely resembling gross misconduct or ‘Cause’ as outlined within the Retention Agreements… and there couldn’t have been any credible allegation he did as a result of Barrett had a spotless twenty-five yr observe file at Bungie.”
Barrett argues Sony and Bungie’s actions “irreparably harmed [him] financially, bodily, and emotionally” and that the purpose of his lawsuit is to “get better tens of hundreds of thousands of {dollars} he’s owed for inventory he earned by twenty-five years of laborious work, to get better for the retaliation he has suffered, to revive his hard-earned popularity, and to be compensated for the falsehoods knowingly and maliciously unfold about him by the Defendants.”
Barrett is in search of $200m in damages, together with $45,579,627 (plus curiosity) owed below his employment phrases, one other $45,579,627 (plus curiosity) for violating Washington’s Wage Rebate Act, and “not lower than $100m” in defamation and punitive damages. He can also be requesting to be reinstated as franchise sport director on Marathon.
Eurogamer has contacted Sony and Bungie for remark.
