There was a time when the name Bungie was on a video game, you'd expect nothing but quality in quantity, original game design and fantastic dialogue with the developer. The glory days of Bungie's work on Xbox's flagship Halo series seem such a long time ago. We're rapidly approaching fifteen years since their final launch in Master Chief's world, 2010's Halo Reach.
Times have changed significantly since then. Bungie's work on their ten-year (since extended) Destiny and Destiny 2 project seemed to be coming towards it's end, as the developer sought to move on to new projects including Marathon. Marathon, a return to one of Bungie's original IPs is being reborn as an extraction shooter and was fully revealed earlier in April.
Marathon reception
Since the reveal, it's been quite a ride.
Immediately after the reveal, discourse online was mixed as many gamers found the gameplay to look uninspiring and extraction shooter genre-chasing. Many were also surprised when Bungie announced Marathon will not be a free-to-play, rather a "premium product" - though that price has never been given. Marathon's lack of a single-player campaign was also the cause of much online discussion.
Marathon’s Alpha shortly followed the reveal and generated very little hype around the game. The results of a quick Google search of "˜Bungie Alpha review' would unlikely wet the appetite of gamers on the fence.
Then came the plagiarism issues, whereby an artist's work was used by Bungie for the game without their permission. Following the plagiarism claim, as reported by Forbes morale at the studio was in "free-fall". This was not the first plagiarism debacle the studio has had to contend with.
Finally, two weeks ago Sony hosted their summer 2025 State of Play. Marathon, developed by a now Sony-owned studio, wasn't present at the showcase.
Marathon delay
All of this has led Bungie to take the difficult decision to delay the game indefinitely. Marathon was set for release on September 23 for Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5 and PC. It is now unclear when the game will release, with a further developer update planned for later this year.
In a statement, Bungie said they "need more time to craft Marathon into the game that truly reflects your passion". They are taking on feedback from Alpha playtesters and the wider community to "empower the team to create the intense, high-stakes experience that a title like Marathon is built around".
Clearly disheartened by the decision they've decided to make, in a blog post the development team said: "We've taken this to heart, and we know we need more time to craft Marathon into the game that truly reflects your passion. After much discussion within our Dev team, we've made the decision to delay the September 23rd release.
"The Alpha test created an opportunity for us to calibrate and focus the game on what will make it uniquely compelling"”survival under pressure, mystery and lore around every corner, raid-like endgame challenges, and Bungie's genre-defining FPS combat.
Closed Alpha playtests will continue with limited player numbers to help Bungie get the game where it needs to be before being re-revealed.
It is also likely that the positive reception to free-to-play ARC Raiders, a competitor extraction shooter that will release on October 30 - just a month after Marathon's initial release date - has played a part.
What the future holds for Marathon now remains unknown. It'll be incredibly difficult for the developers to re-reveal the game when the time comes. If Marathon returns as a free-to-play title is something we won’t know till later in 2025.
It is yet another live-service title under the PlayStation Studios banner that has faced challenges. Last year, another Sony shooter Concord infamously launched and closed it's servers within weeks. Naughty Dog also cancelled development of The Last of Us Online in 2023.
What do you think about the indefinite delay of Marathon? Was it the right move? What does the game need to come back stronger?
Let us know in the comments below and stick with GSC for all your Marathon news.
