Bungie Teases Mysterious Marathon Project

Remember Marathon? It's the next big project from Destiny developer Bungie, and it looks like we're finally about to get a deeper glimpse into what's in store.

Marathon is a PvP-focused extraction shooter set on the enigmatic planet of Tau Ceti IV. Players take on the roles of Runners, cybernetic mercenaries engineered to withstand the planet's harsh conditions, as they explore the remnants of a lost colony on Tau Ceti's surface.

It's been a while since we last heard about Marathon. Back in October, Bungie shared a detailed development update video, which provided insights into the game's mechanics. However, they emphasized that the game was still in its early stages. At that time, player character models were still being refined, and enemy models were in their initial phases.

Now, half a year later, Bungie seems ready to unveil more of what they've been working on. A tweet from the official Marathon account featured a cryptic image and accompanying garbled signal noise. Fans quickly noticed ASCII art reminiscent of footage from the debut Marathon trailer. Given Bungie's reputation for mysterious teasers, hidden clues, and Easter eggs, there's likely more to uncover, and the community is already diving in to decipher the message.

Despite the excitement, Marathon's development hasn't been without its challenges. The game was first revealed in May 2023 as a reboot of the classic Bungie franchise, emphasizing themes of "mysteries, eeriness, and psychological creepiness." However, Bungie has faced significant controversies in recent years, including the layoff of 220 staff members in July 2024, which amounted to 17% of its workforce. This move was criticized even by industry peers and came less than a year after another round of 100 layoffs, with staff describing the atmosphere at the studio as "soul-crushing."

Further controversy arose when a report surfaced weeks after the 220 job cuts, alleging that former Marathon director Chris Barrett was fired following an internal misconduct investigation at Bungie. Barrett then filed a lawsuit against Sony Interactive Entertainment and Bungie, seeking over $200 million in damages.

All of this unfolds as Sony reevaluates its focus on live-service games. In November 2023, Sony president Hiroki Totoki announced a strategic shift, committing to launch only six out of the 12 live service games initially planned by March 2026. This shift led to the cancellation of The Last of Us multiplayer game.

While Arrowhead's Helldivers 2 was a massive success, becoming the fastest-selling PlayStation Studios game with 12 million copies sold in just 12 weeks, other Sony live service games faced either cancellation or disastrous launches. Notably, Sony's Concord was one of the biggest flops in PlayStation history, lasting only a couple of weeks before being taken offline due to extremely low player numbers. Sony eventually decided to terminate the game and shut down its developer.

Earlier this year, Sony reportedly canceled two more unannounced live service games: one a God of War title developed by Bluepoint, and another from Days Gone developer Bend.

Are you excited for Marathon?

Yes No

Answer See Results