On the official Bungie website, the responsible parties announced that they will postpone the targeted release of Marathon to September 23, 2025, and move it to an indefinite date.
What was the initial situation? Bungie’s new extraction shooter has experienced turbulent months. Many of the players who have had the chance to try out Marathon have shown little enthusiasm. Additionally, there was trouble with an artist, who was able to show that a former developer simply used her work.
And all this in an environment where Bungie on one side and Sony on the other are going through difficult times with their respective service games.
- Destiny 2 is no longer the major success title of the past, which is why there were also extensive layoffs and restructurings in 2024.
- Sony has had a historically poor start with Concord, the expensive megaflop was discontinued just a few days after release.
- Jade Raymond recently left her position as head of her PlayStation studio Haven. There, Fairgame$ is also developing an online shooter for Sony.
- Sony already had to remove a major service project from the list in 2023 with Last of Us Online.
More Survival, More Marathon, More Social
Why is the postponement happening? Sony and Bungie can both really use a hit. In other words: Marathon must not fail. However, since the feedback so far has been mixed, the developers are postponing the planned release on September 23, 2025.
On the official website bungie.net, they explain:
Through every comment and every real-time conversation on social media and Discord, you have expressed your opinion loud and clear. We have taken this to heart and know that we need more time to make Marathon a game that truly reflects your passion.
According to industry expert Paul Tassi, who is closely connected to the Bungie environment, the team learned of the postponement only with the release of the developer announcement. See also his message on X.
The plans for the coming weeks and months at Bungie are as follows:
- They want to conduct further beta tests to continue gathering player feedback about the current status and implemented adjustments.
- The developers want to strengthen the survival aspect through challenging AI opponents, dynamic events, motivating loot, and a more intense combat experience.
- The team wants to better articulate the universe of Marathon through graphics, more narrative elements, and a darker tone that aligns better with previous Marathon games.
- Marathon is to receive more social features while also improving the gaming experience for solo players and duos.
Whether that will be enough to make Marathon the hit everyone hopes for remains to be seen. By the way, the game is already doing some things right. Our shooter expert Dariusz Müller has highlighted a potential strength in this article: Many extraction shooters bore me, but an innovative idea from Marathon even piques my interest
