Anyone who has been following Destiny since its release in 2014 is probably familiar with Bungie’s release curse. For nearly every upcoming release by the Halo creators, whether it’s a DLC or a game, the project leadership is either switched or dismissed, and this is now happening with Marathon.
What is currently happening with Marathon? Behind the scenes of the upcoming extraction shooter “Marathon,” there has been a restructuring of the leadership. Game Director Christopher Barrett, whom many Destiny fans should know, worked on Destiny 1 and 2 as Game Director and Designer before Marathon. However, it has now been announced that he has been replaced by former Valorant Game Director Joe Ziegler.
Joe Ziegler revealed his new position on x.com and that he has been working on the “Marathon” project for the past 9 months. This is not an unusual situation, considering how Bungie has handled its previous releases. Such projects often left the hands of several teams, which Bungie rotated just in time, and now it’s happening again.
IGN dug deeper into the issues surrounding Bungie and Marathon and found that there are further problems.
Developers fear further wave of layoffs
The news site IGN spoke with many sources about the current situation at Bungie and the status of the Marathon release. According to their sources, Bungie is still trying to pump resources into the development of the extraction shooter to ensure its release.
While developers are trying to balance both Marathon and the Destiny DLC “The Final Shape,” internal sources at Bungie fear a further wave of layoffs if the projects do not succeed.
IGN spoke with an internal employee who has knowledge of the budget, and he told the news portal that “nothing fits together” and “something has to happen to cut costs unless The Final Shape performs so well that it can fill the gap, and people can switch to Marathon.”
So if “The Final Shape” doesn’t generate enough revenue, Marathon could be at risk, further delaying its release. In the worst case, some developers might have to leave the company. The same scenario occurred at Bungie when the last DLC “Lightfall” did not sell well.
When will Marathon be released? This cannot be pinned down exactly at the moment. Many fans suspected a release in 2024, but following the first wave of layoffs at Bungie, the timelines for the developers’ projects have been pushed back. It is now assumed that Marathon could be released in 2025, but that is also not set in stone.
What do you think of Marathon and the issues many developers are currently facing? Do you believe Bungie will make the leap with the upcoming Destiny DLC release or is hope lost? Let us know in the comments!
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