Sony is "very confident" in Marathon after playtests revealed "good points," as well as "not good points" that have since been changed for Bungie's Arc Raiders challenger
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Anthony McGlynn
2026-02-05
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Being both a new FPS from Bungie and the company's first major release since being acquired by Sony, there's a lot of anticipation for Marathon. As we're now one month out from the sci-fi shooter's release, the project came up during Sony's latest earnings call, where the publisher expressed confidence in it.
Lin Tao, Sony's CFO, mentioned playtests of Marathon that revealed both "good points and not good points," the latter leading to changes. Now that they've been implemented, everyone's feeling better about the game. "After the modifications, we are very confident to release it on March 5," she adds, per a translation from Genki on Twitter.
Marathon's had something of a troubled journey. Originally, the plan was to release it in 2024, but it was then pushed back to 2025. In June of that year, it was delayed indefinitely, raising concerns about how the development was progressing and whether it'd make it to market at all.
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Marathon: Everything we know so far about the upcoming game
Then, in January of this year, the early March release date was locked in amid trailers and behind-the-scenes footage showing the kind of fun, smooth experience we’ve come to expect from Bungie. There was some internal changeover all the while, as Julia Nardin took over as creative director from Steve Cotton in May 2025.
Tao's comment suggests it's all managed to come together. A continuation from the original Marathon trilogy from the '90s, this entry is multiplayer-focused, as players become cybernetically enhanced scavengers searching for loot and supplies on a space colony after some form of catastrophe. It's very bright and futuristic, and the narrative is purportedly shaped through your decisions over time, which is always intriguing.
On top of everything else, this is the team's first non-Destiny-related game since 2014, and it's quite nice to have something totally fresh to dig into from the studio. For good or ill, it should at least be interesting - and quite satisfying to move around in, as is the Bungie way. We'll find out on March 5.
Marathon is a greatest hits of '90s futurism, according to Bungie lead, who says the shooter was "deeply inspired" by wild PlayStation ads and "translucent DualShocks."
echoesOfBlue
Feb 05, 05:51 PM
unlikely This is amazing!. 👋
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Feb 05, 05:01 PM
seems okay. tight bad multiplayer. I built it.
xx420xx
Feb 05, 03:41 PM
I don't remember. That's it, okay.? omg 👀
rainyday.exe
Feb 05, 02:11 PM
does it matter? brb The gameplay is fire. Not for adults Seems okay to me.
penguinator
Feb 05, 01:11 PM
Brand new. Probably worth it. I lost it. amazing Not for adults.
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