Remember Marathon? It's the next game from Destiny developer Bungie, and it looks like we're on the verge of getting a deeper look into it.
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 a lost colony that once thrived 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 that provided insights into the game's mechanics, although it 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 an early state.
Now, half a year later, it seems Bungie is ready to unveil more about what they've been working on. A tweet from the official Marathon account featured a cryptic image and accompanying garbled signal noise. Fans have noticed ASCII art depicting footage from the debut Marathon trailer. Given Bungie's reputation for mysterious teasers, hidden clues, and Easter eggs, there's likely much more to uncover, and the community is already diving in to decipher it all.
Despite the excitement, Marathon's development has faced its share of challenges. The game was first revealed in May 2023 as a reboot of the classic Bungie franchise, focusing on themes of mystery, eeriness, and psychological creepiness. However, Bungie has encountered significant controversies recently, including the layoff of 220 staff members in July 2024, which represented 17% of its workforce. This move was criticized by industry peers and came less than a year after another round of 100 layoffs, which staff described to IGN as "soul-crushing."
Further controversy arose when a report surfaced weeks after the layoffs, alleging that former Marathon director Chris Barrett was fired following an internal misconduct investigation. Barrett subsequently filed a lawsuit against Sony Interactive Entertainment and Bungie, seeking over $200 million.
All of this is happening as Sony reevaluates its approach to live-service games. In November 2023, Sony president Hiroki Totoki announced that the company would focus on launching only six of the twelve live service games it had in development by March 2026. This strategic shift led to the cancellation of The Last of Us multiplayer game.
While Arrowhead's Helldivers 2 became a massive success, selling 12 million copies in just 12 weeks and becoming the fastest-selling PlayStation Studios game ever, other Sony live service titles either faced cancellation or disastrous launches. Sony's Concord, for instance, was a significant disappointment, lasting only a few weeks before being taken offline due to extremely low player counts. Sony eventually decided to terminate the game entirely and close its developer.
Earlier this year, Sony also reportedly canceled two unannounced live service games: one a God of War title being developed by Bluepoint, and the other by Days Gone developer Bend.
Are you excited for Marathon?
