Sorry, internet weirdos, The Witcher 4's director has confirmed that Ciri's face hasn't been "modified" since that first reveal trailer - Related to sony, got, fired,, according, hasn't

Sony dismisses claims it destroyed former director's reputation, alleging he engaged in "consistent misconduct"

Sony has hit back at points to it maligned the reputation of former Marathon reboot director Chris Barrett, purporting its investigations had uncovered "consistent" misconduct wherein he would target a "lower-level, female employee he wasn't working with directly, initially engaged in friendly conversation, and progressively pushed boundaries", "often referenc[ing] his wealth and his ability to advance their careers."

Back in December, former Marathon reboot director Barrett filed a lawsuit against Bungie and. Sony for "deliberately destroy[ing his] reputation by falsely, and publicly, insinuating they had 'investigated' Barrett and 'found' he had engaged in sexual misconduct," and to avoid paying him a $45 million payment.

Barrett was fired by Bungie last year following an internal investigation into alleged inappropriate behaviour against female colleagues. In court papers, Barrett's lawyers suggest his former employer "did not care that none of it was true; they had blatant motivations for their brazen scheme," only wanting to "shift blame for and deflect attention away from their massive business failures."

As first 's Stephen Totilo, Sony has now responded to Barrett's asserts.

"The investigation revealed that Barrett's misconduct with each employee was consistent: he targeted a lower-level, female employee he wasn't working with directly. Initially engaged in friendly conversation, and progressively pushed boundaries with the employee by making subtle references to her physical appearance or expressing his interest romantically," its response stated.

"Barrett attempted to create an unprofessional level of intimacy with his victims. He requested to follow personal Instagram accounts and would express anger to the women if they failed to respond to his messages. He would bring up inappropriate topics like their body, their relationships, his marriage, or his desire to date them.

"He would demand that they participate in sexually charged games of 'Truth or Dare' and. 'Ask Me Anything'. He texted them at all hours of the day and night. He offered to buy them gifts. He often referenced his wealth and his ability to advance their careers," the statement continued.

"Barrett’s predatory behaviour caused victims to seek guidance from other Bungie employees on how to manage Barrett’s constant boundary-pushing given that he was a long-standing. Senior member of the corporation. Multiple victims reported to Human Resources during the investigation that they were afraid for their jobs during these encounters."

In response to Totilo's findings, Barrett's legal representative expressed: "Sony continues to disingenuously cherry-pick text messages and alleged conversations and. Make unsupported and conclusory statements to defame Christopher and justify terminating him to avoid paying him what he was owed under his employment agreements. It is telling that Sony does not include the full text messages as exhibits, or the full content of these conversations, and nothing in Sony’s response provides a legitimate legal or factual basis to terminate Christopher for cause.

"Christopher is confident that when all the evidence is presented, it will be clear that Sony engaged in a scheme to strip him of his role and the equity awards he earned for his 25 years of loyal service to the corporation."

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These are the text messages that allegedly got a former Bungie executive fired, according to a court document written by Sony

A lawsuit between Sony and a fired Bungie director is getting messy. Sony have revealed the text messages sent by the former director, which they say are proof of his "predatory behaviour" and. Justify their decision to dismiss him. Christopher Barrett was removed from his position last year in a dramatic reshuffle and it was later revealed that the reasons included alleged "inappropriate" and. "unwanted" messages to female staff at the studio. In response to the allegations, Barrett sued Bungie and parent organization Sony for breach of contract and defamation. Claiming that the investigation that led to his dismissal was a "sham". The real reason for his firing, he says, was to stop a big bonus payout of over $45 million.

But lo. The Streisand effect has been initiated. His lawsuit has invited Sony to roll up their sleeves and dip their arms into their big gritty bag of exhibits. Examples of the texts he allegedly sent to employees have been revealed in a court filing.

The 128-page legal document is basically a line-by-line response to all the indicates Barrett is making in his lawsuit against his former firm. It was first , who's been following the case since the lawsuit began. In the document Sony first repeat their indicates against Barrett, citing the original investigation they did into his conduct.

"The investigation revealed that Barrett's misconduct with each employee was consistent: he targeted a lower-level, female employee he wasn't working with directly, initially engaged in friendly conversation. And progressively pushed boundaries with the employee by making subtle references to her physical appearance or expressing his interest in her romantically. Barrett attempted to create an unprofessional level of intimacy with his victims. He requested to follow personal Instagram accounts and would express anger to the women if they failed to respond to his messages. He would bring up inappropriate topics like their body, their relationships, his marriage, or his desire to date them. He would demand that they participate in sexually charged games of "Truth or Dare" and "Ask Me Anything." He texted them at all hours of the day and. Night. He offered to buy them gifts. He often referenced his wealth and his ability to advance their careers.

Sony then goes on to include specific examples of the texts Barrett allegedly sent to female employees, as well as behaviour they say he engaged in. Such as calling female employees while drunk to ask who they were dating. Here's some of what's included in the document:

Barrett asked VICTIM 1 to play "Truth or Dare" over text message and inquired, "what do you think is your best and worst feature physically[?]" He later told her in a text message that she was "hot".

Despite VICTIM 1's explicit request in writing for Barrett to recognize "boundaries," he called her late at night while drunk and after keeping her on a FaceTime call for hours, moved down a dark hallway to his bedroom and. Suggestively told her, "I can't believe I am lying in bed talking to [VICTIM 1]." She abruptly hung up.

Barrett sent VICTIM 2 Instagram direct messages stating, "You are the holy grail. I hope you find a person worthy of your attention" and qualified it with, "I'm not hitting on you. I hope it doesn't feel like that. I'm married. But I can be honest. You are the .000001 and advanced be treated like that forever." When VICTIM 2 responded that her boyfriend treats her very well, Barrett responded, "He advanced[.] Cuz i would hit on you if he wasn't."

Barrett also sent VICTIM 2 an Instagram direct message asking. "You want to be worshipped, I think? Why are you against that actually happening?" And a few days later messaged VICTIM 2, "[w]hat are the steps one would have to take [to date you?] What's the strategy guide[?]"

Barrett similarly told VICTIM 3, "I hope [your boyfriend] doesn't mind I text you a lot" and. "I just worry. Like I really enjoy texting you and talking. I don't want him to get the right idea." Later in the conversation, when VICTIM 3 told Barrett she was busy, Barrett stated, "I want your attention, so annoying."

In another Microsoft Teams exchange. Barrett asked VICTIM 4, "Are you still in PJ s?" and "[i]s it like a button down top and bottoms? Sweat pants? Lululemons?".

Just three weeks into VICTIM 5's tenure at Bungie, Barrett called her late in the evening, while drunk, and. Told her intimate details about his personal life and asked her about who she was dating and what her "type" was. He sent her a personal Instagram follow request to connect that night, which she did not accept.

Sony goes on to say that many of the women involved eventually reported these incidents to Human Resources, but. Were nonetheless afraid for their positions.

"Barrett's predatory behavior caused victims to seek guidance from other Bungie employees on how to manage Barrett's constant boundary-pushing given that he was a long-standing, senior member of the organization," they say.

"Some victims did tell Barrett to stop. But even in cases where he initially feigned compliance, Barrett promptly picked back up again with his disturbing behavior in his next communication."

All this essentially means that Sony is sticking to their decision to fire Barrett for reasons of "gross misconduct and gross negligence". Which would cover them as terminating his employment "for "Cause."

This is the part that Barrett disputes. He states that he has been "scapegoat[ed]," "falsely" accused, and "defame[d]" all because Sony don't want to pay out a big bonus he says he is entitled to - a multi-million-dollar payout he is reportedly owed thanks to Sony's purchase of Bungie in 2022.

"Sony continues to disingenuously cherry pick text messages and. Alleged conversations," showcased Barrett's legal team in a message to Totilo at Game File. "[They] make unsupported and conclusory statements to defame Christopher and justify terminating him to avoid paying him what he was owed under his employment agreements. It is telling that Sony does not include the full text messages as exhibits, or the full content of these conversations, and nothing in Sony’s response provides a legitimate legal or factual basis to terminate Christopher for cause."

Barrett's lawyers argue that the organization did not have cause to fire him, as he did not "engage in any financial improprieties" or "have or solicit any improper sexual relationships with his colleagues."

Sony calls this line of argument "outrageous considering the evidence".

"Hundreds of Barrett's own written statements and. The direct testimony of his many victims will demonstrate his termination for Cause was justified and this lawsuit is meritless," they say in the document.

It is hard to know how legal cases such as this will shake out. Totilo notes the "aggressive" tactics of both parties, and comments that many cases involving such sums of money are eventually settled.

Bungie has been in the spotlight over such issues before. In 2021 they were accused of a "toxic" studio culture in which women and others did not feel safe or valued. A senior leader at the business called one woman "an unmanageable bitch", for example. Another senior leader allegedly made frequent racist remarks. The CEO of the business, Pete Parsons, apologised and promised changes to the studio, saying it was "clear we still have work ahead of us".

In related news, the studio has in the recent past sought to reassure fans that their next game. An extraction shooter reboot of Marathon, is still in production with new director Joe Ziegler having replaced Barrett. Though there hasn't been much news about the game since its reveal, and the studio has since suffered from recent layoffs.

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Sorry, internet weirdos, The Witcher 4's director has confirmed that Ciri's face hasn't been "modified" since that first reveal trailer

Right, here we go. Remember that The Witcher 4 reveal trailer behind-the-scenes video CD Projekt put out the other day? The one with mo-cap actions fighting some poles? Well, some people thought it featured shots showing Ciri's appearance has been changed compared to that first trailer. Now, the game's director has confirmed that it has not.

I'm not going to dwell on which kinds of accounts were asserting that the face had been changed, and. For what reasons, because it's the exact kind of people you'd expect. You know, the kind who responded to the initial trailer by getting very angry about the idea that TW4 had a female protagonist, because of they just care about lore, they swear.

Anyway. Witcher 4 director Sebastian Kalemba has stepped in to nip any chatter in the bud.

"The behind-the-scenes video elements the same in-game model of Ciri as seen in the original trailer," he wrote, "We have not modified it. What you’re seeing is raw footage - without facial animation, lighting, or virtual camera lenses.

"While it’s still in-engine. It represents a work-in-progress snapshot taken before we applied cinematic touches for the purpose of that video. This variation is a natural part of the game development process. At this point, any character's appearance may vary depending on the medium — whether it’s in a trailer, a 3D model. Or in-game."

So, there you go. Nothing to discourse about, not that it'll stop the main grifters from doing so, but hey, it's 2025 and we're all trapped here forever. Putting that aside, Kalemba's explanation's an interesting read if you're just curious about how studios can go about putting together pre-release stuff character-wise.

In other recent CD Projekt-related news, a job listing for Cyberpunk 2077's sequel not long ago hinted that the studio's potentially aiming to deliver "the most realistic and reactive crowd system in any game to date". Even if reading into job descriptions rarely paints the full picture of what a game might actually end up like.

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(she/her) is a culture writer at Polygon, covering internet culture, fandom, and video games. Her work has previously appeared at NPR, Wired, and The ...

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