Marathon, the new extraction shooter from Bungie, might have been delayed, according to a new report based on inside information from the company. Sony, on its side, may have canceled all marketing plans for the next few months.
Problems with the recent Closed Alpha test, as well as confirmed accusations of art plagiarism from the designer ANTIREAL, could have pushed the management to give the game more time, to avoid a situation like what happened with Concord.
After the plagiarism issue, several reports have painted a worrying picture of what is going on inside Bungie. Multiple sources say that the morale among developers is dropping fast, with many team members frustrated by leadership decisions and the overall direction of the project.
Some have even described Marathon’s leadership as “toxic and humiliating,” saying that warnings to focus only on PvP (player versus player) were given from the start but completely ignored by the top managers. Another report says that after mixed reactions to the Closed Alpha, Bungie delayed marketing plans and pre-orders that were supposed to start in June, replacing the big open beta with simpler “public tests.”
Now, a new report from Colin Moriarty (thanks The Game Post), a trusted insider, says Sony has canceled all paid marketing plans for Marathon. This information comes from an inside source involved in marketing activities.
“I was told by someone familiar with marketing plans in a key overseas market that there are now no plans to do paid marketing for Marathon at all,” Moriarty said during his podcast. “I don’t know if those plans were affected by what has recently happened or if that was always the plan or whatever. But it is considered a fairly unusual move for a game of this high profile.”
For now, the launch of Marathon is still set for September 23 on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S. There are no confirmed delays yet, so it’s best to take this news with a grain of salt.
