{
  "id": 15435832,
  "title": "'There were a lot of disagreements across the place': Former Marathon director Joe Ziegler on leading Bungie's extraction shooter, playing Path of Exile for 3,437 hours, and why he'll never uninstall Kingdom Hearts",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/18/there-were-a-lot-of-disagreements-across-the-place-former-marathon",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-10-18T15:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "PC Gamer",
    "slug": "pc-gamer",
    "url": "https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/there-were-a-lot-of-disagreements-across-the-place-former-marathon-director-joe-ziegler-on-leading-bungies-extraction-shooter-playing-path-of-exile-for-3-437-hours-and-why-hell-never-uninstall-kingdom-hearts/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Former Marathon director Joe Ziegler spoke about leading Bungie's extraction shooter, his extensive time spent playing Path of Exile, and his fondness for Kingdom Hearts. Ziegler, known for his work on competitive shooters, initially found gaming through point-and-click adventures like King's Quest. He began his career at Pandemic Studios, working on The Saboteur, but is most recognized for his role as game director in Riot's Valorant and Marathon, taking over in March 2024 after Christopher Barret's departure. Following Marathon's launch, Ziegler left Bungie to work on an unrevealed project, emphasizing his desire to create the coolest thing with the best people. Currently, Ziegler is playing Elden Ring, Star Wars: Galactic Racer, and Destiny 2, the latter being his comfort food. He recounted his early exposure to Bungie through a ticket to E3, received for playing Myth 2, and his initial exposure to Halo, which sparked his eventual involvement with Bungie.",
  "summary": "The former game director of both Marathon and Valorant guides us through the games on his PC.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}