Destiny developer Bungie to be fully integrated into Sony as Marathon's release date announcement looms

Sony’s Chief Financial Officer Lin Tao has officially confirmed that the Bellevue-based studio and developer of Destiny 2 and the upcoming live-service title, Marathon, will be integrated into PlayStation Studios, ending the company’s promised “very independent environment,” after acquiring the studio for $3.6 billion in 2022.

However, between October 2023 and July 2024, Bungie laid off a sizable chunk of its entire workforce, nearly 320 employees out of its estimated peak headcount of 1600. The causality for this was poor reception amid the release of Destiny 2’s highly anticipated Lightfall expansion, which fell flat, as fans and critics found the story confusing, and key characters underdeveloped.

Consequently, Bungie missed its 2023 revenue target by a massive 45%, putting pressure on its profitability as a studio at a time when it was looking to expand the portfolio of titles it published.

These recent challenges and the restructuring of the workforce have resultantly affected Bungie’s upcoming standalone live-service project, Marathon,  which was delayed from its planned release date of September 23, 2025, to a tentative window before March 31, 2025.

In light of this, Sony has decided to tighten its grip on the studio. Sony CFO Lin Tao stated during Sony’s Q1 FY2025 livestream: 

“We have gone through structural reform, as we announced last year, so this independence is getting lighter, and Bungie is shifting into a role that is becoming more part of PlayStation Studios, and the integration is proceeding.”

Bungie’s upcoming project, Marathon, is a revival of the developers' 1994 FPS, which was released on the Apple Macintosh. The game enjoyed two sequels, Marathon 2: Durandal and Marathon Infinity, which were released in 1995 and 1996. Apple Bandai’s Pippin console received a port of Marathon and Marathon 2 in 1996.

The game was a commercial success at the time, as Bungie sold 100,000 units before the launch of Marathon 2, and sales crossed the 150,000 mark by October 1995. Towards the tail end of the 90s, Bungie released the source code of Marathon 2, after which the studio was acquired by Microsoft in 2000.

It may be prudent to point out that Bungie’s new Marathon project hasn’t garnered the same amount of hype as the 90s original, as the game was delayed indefinitely by the studio after a closed alpha, which was met with a relatively leaner reception than was expected. Furthermore, the studio embroiled in controversy after accusations of plagiarizing artwork from an indie artist 4nt1r34l. 

Bungie responded to the backlash with an artwork audit and issued an apology for the hiccup. With the current project being reportedly delayed indefinitely by independent sources, Tao addressed the rumors of cancellation in the Q&A session:

“We are now fixing the problems, so we believe this launch will happen. If this launch is canceled, we’d need to do the revision of the valuation. However, as of now, this is not expected. 

Tao further stated that the project could be released before March 31, 2026, but emphasized, “This is not a commitment. No official announcement has been given yet.”