Remember Marathon? It's the next big project from Destiny developer Bungie, and it seems like we're on the verge of getting a fresh look at this highly anticipated game.
Marathon is set to be a PvP-focused extraction shooter, taking players to the mysterious planet of Tau Ceti IV. In this world, players will 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.
It's been a while since we last heard about Marathon. Back in October, Bungie shared an extensive development update video that provided insights into the game's mechanics. However, it was emphasized that Marathon was still in the early stages of development. At that time, player character models were still in the process of being finalized, and enemy models were just starting to take shape.
Now, six months on, it appears that Bungie is ready to unveil more of what they've been working on. A recent tweet from the official Marathon account shared a cryptic image accompanied by a garbled signal noise. Fans quickly spotted ASCII art reminiscent of the debut Marathon trailer. Known for their mysterious teasers, hidden clues, and Easter eggs, Bungie has likely embedded more secrets for fans to uncover.
pic.twitter.com/6NBgIdRVK2
— Marathon (@MarathonTheGame) April 4, 2025
Marathon was first revealed in May 2023 as a reboot of the classic Bungie franchise, promising themes of "mysteries, eeriness, and psychological creepiness." However, Bungie has faced significant challenges recently, including the layoff of 220 staff members in July 2024, representing 17% of its workforce. This move drew criticism even from industry peers. It followed another round of 100 layoffs less than a year earlier, after which staff described the atmosphere at the studio as "soul-crushing" to IGN.
Adding to the turmoil, a report emerged weeks after the 220 job cuts, alleging that former Marathon director Chris Barrett was fired following an internal misconduct investigation at Bungie. Barrett subsequently filed a lawsuit against Sony Interactive Entertainment and Bungie, seeking over $200 million.
AnswerSee ResultsAll of this unfolds as Sony reevaluates its strategy on live-service games. In November 2023, Sony president Hiroki Totoki announced that the company would focus on launching just six out of the 12 live service games planned by March 2026. This shift led to the cancellation of The Last of Us multiplayer game.
While Arrowhead's Helldivers 2 became a phenomenal success, selling 12 million copies in just 12 weeks and becoming the fastest-selling PlayStation Studios game ever, other Sony live service titles faced either cancellation or disastrous launches. Notably, Sony's Concord turned out to be one of the biggest flops in PlayStation history, surviving only a few weeks before being taken offline due to extremely low player numbers. Eventually, Sony decided to terminate the game and close its developer.
Moreover, earlier this year, Sony reportedly canceled two unannounced live service games: one a God of War title being developed by Bluepoint, and another from the Days Gone developer Bend.
