Summary
- Bungie employees are facing low morale due to controversies surrounding their upcoming game, Marathon.
- Some playtesters have called for the game to be delayed.
- The game also used some plagiarized artwork.
After the latest string of Marathon controversies, Bungie employees say morale is reaching an all-time low. The studio's extraction shooter and first new game since 2017's Destiny 2 has faced a rocky road leading up to its September 2025 release day. Over the past few months, Marathon has dealt with plagiarism accusations, comparisons to the ill-fated Concord, and negative player feedback, and it's starting to take a toll on the team.
The trouble started for Bungie before alpha tests even began. Some gamers referred to Marathon as "Concord 2.0" after its initial reveal, casting doubt over the game's ability to make much of a splash in an increasingly crowded shooter market. Unfortunately, that was only the beginning, as plagiarism controversies and concerns from playtesters have mounted.
ARC Raiders Is Already Stealing Marathon’s Thunder
Despite both being extraction shooters, the reception to ARC Raiders and Marathon could not be more different, and it has some serious implications.
Speaking to Forbes, several Bungie devs commented on the state of the workplace amid this series of setbacks, and they didn't paint a pretty picture. One employee said that "vibes have never been worse" at the studio, with workers across departments feeling the heat over worries of Marathon flopping upon release. Among the biggest issues facing the team is an in-depth audit of the game's assets after Bungie admitted that a former Marathon artist plagiarized artwork seen in some of its environments. It's unclear how long the audit will take or how much work it will be to replace any plagiarized material, leaving devs concerned about the remaining timeline.
Bungie Devs Say Morale Is in "Free-Fall" Amid Recent Marathon Controversies
Uncertainty over the game's release has added to the "free-fall" of morale at Bungie. While Forbes' sources say there's no talk of pushing back the release date, several Marathon alpha testers want the game delayed until 2026, saying the game isn't ready for a September launch. Any extra work from having to remove some artwork and replace it with new content could make it even harder to put out a polished product by such a close deadline.
Even if the release timeline doesn't change, the game's marketing is. There's reportedly talk of changing Marathon' s August Open Beta into a series of public playtests, and Bungie is reworking its primary marketing campaign, which was set to include a June trailer when pre-orders would've gone live. What lies in store for the game now is uncertain. Whether the "now actively hostile" work environment will impact Marathon's release or level of quality is unclear, as is whether and how things might change at the studio. For now, fans will have to wait to hear more from Bungie.
WHERE TO PLAY
- Genre(s)
- Extraction Shooter, FPS, Multiplayer
