Sony Rejects Lawsuit Claims from Former Bungie Director Over Alleged Misconduct

Explanation through Bungie/PlayStation.

Sony has refuted allegations brought forth by former Bungie director Christopher Barrett, who initiated a lawsuit against both companies in 2024 after being terminated from the Destiny 2 and Marathon developer. The PlayStation manufacturer issued a 128-page legal response (first obtained by GameFile), which sought to dismiss six out of the seven claims in Barrett’s lawsuit.

At the time of his termination, Barrett was let go due to alleged misconduct, which involved “inappropriate behavior” toward at least eight women across various departments at Bungie. Barrett contended that his dismissal was “unjustified” and accused Bungie and Sony of seeking to avoid a $45 million payout stipulated in his employment contract.

Sony’s legal response rebuffs Barrett’s claims, asserting that the investigation into his conduct revealed his “consistent” behavior toward the unnamed employees.

“He focused on a junior female employee with whom he was not directly involved, initially starting friendly conversations, and progressively overstepped boundaries by making subtle comments about her physical appearance or expressing romantic interest,” states the response. “Barrett attempted to foster an unprofessional level of intimacy with his victims.”

The response continues to assert that Barrett often discussed “inappropriate topics” with these women, including remarks about their physical traits, and would message them “at all hours.” Several text messages are referenced in the response, corroborated by Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier, who first reported Barrett’s termination.

Barrett and Bungie’s alleged relationship

According to Sony, multiple victims requested Barrett to stop his behavior or escalated the matter to Bungie’s human resources department. However, it is alleged that he would resume his inappropriate conduct after briefly ceasing. His alleged actions “caused numerous female employees who were subordinate to him to feel uncomfortable, fear retaliation, and feel victimized by their interactions with him. This disrupted their work performance and hindered [our] business operations.”

Representatives for Barrett informed Game File that Sony continues to “selectively present text messages and alleged conversations while making unfounded and vague statements to discredit Christopher and rationalize his termination to evade compensating him as per his employment agreements. […] No part of Sony’s response offers a valid legal or factual reason for terminating Christopher for cause.”

Barrett has previously contended that Bungie had a history of workplace toxicity that he was exposed to. His initial lawsuit mentioned a “very senior executive” sending him and other high-level employees inappropriate text messages regarding the appearance of female staff members in the studio. Sony claimed it “lacks sufficient knowledge or information to form a belief regarding the truth of the allegations,” but remains adamant in its overall position.

“Barrett’s claims that he was ‘scapegoated,’ ‘falsely accused,’ and ‘defamed’ are outrageous in light of the evidence,” Sony remarked. “A plethora of Barrett’s own written accounts and direct testimonies from his numerous victims will validate that his termination for cause was warranted, and this lawsuit is without merit.”

Sony’s complete response can also be examined here.

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