Following “varied” feedback from alpha testers, Sony is still committed to releasing Marathon during the company’s fiscal year ending March 31, 2026. Marathon has faced major controversies since its announcement, though Sony trusts it will manage to sort out any issues with the game and deliver a title players will be satisfied with.
Marathon is an upcoming extraction shooter from Bungie that was initially set to launch in September 2025 for PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC. Following Marathon’s controversy related to art plagiarism, the game has been on a rocky path that makes many wonder whether the Concord situation will be repeated. Marathon is built around PvP extraction mechanics: teams or solo players dive into a hostile environment and must gather loot while trying to escape alive. With the alpha being poorly received, plus the art scandal, the Marathon team’s morale is in a bad place, which is why many came to believe that the title would see a delay—though Sony has a different perspective.
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Despite Marathon’s alpha testers asking for a delay, the game is still scheduled for release in FY25, according to Slide 27 of the Game & Network Services Segment presentation. Moreover, the document later describes the game as having a “strong early engagement” and being an “innovative new title,” which seems to contradict the community’s feelings about it. During an investor-focused interview, the CEO of Studio Business Group, Hermen Hulst, commented that while the game’s feedback has been “varied,” the information is super useful and Sony will “give the title the optimal chance of success.”
Sony Committed to Releasing Marathon Within Its Fiscal Year 2025
Although employees working on Marathon admitted to facing low morale, Hulst assured that “we’re really excited for that release.” He explained the team is going through the test cycle, taking all the lessons learned in the alpha phase, as this will enable the developer “to constantly improve the title.” Hulst also expressed how committed the team is to “maximise engagement and player satisfaction” during Marathon’s lifecycle, revealing Sony has applied more “rigorous processes” to work with this title—presumably to avoid what happened with Concord.
Hulst didn’t address Marathon’s art plagiarism controversy, though in May 2025, Bungie admitted to using artwork without permission and promised to remove it and do a better job of reviewing this in the future. While these issues did eventually cause delays in sharing upcoming content, Sony is still committed to launching the game during FY25. It’ll be interesting to see, though, how the company navigates the current situation and whether it manages to turn things around after the latest controversies.
WHERE TO PLAY
- Genre(s)
- Extraction Shooter, FPS, Multiplayer
