Remember Marathon? It's the next big project from Destiny developer Bungie, and it looks like we're finally getting a closer look at what's in store.
Marathon is an exciting PvP-focused extraction shooter set on the mysterious planet of Tau Ceti IV. In the game, players take on the roles of Runners, cybernetic mercenaries engineered to withstand the planet's harsh conditions. They explore the remnants of a lost colony that once thrived on Tau Ceti's surface.
It's been a while since we last heard about Marathon. In October, Bungie released a detailed development update video that provided insights into the game's mechanics. However, they emphasized that the game was still in the early stages of development. At that time, player character models were still being refined, and enemy models were in their preliminary stages.
Now, six months later, Bungie seems ready to unveil more about Marathon. A tweet from the official Marathon account, shown below, features a cryptic image and accompanying garbled signal noise. Fans have noticed ASCII art depicting scenes from the debut Marathon trailer. Given Bungie's reputation for mysterious teasers, hidden clues, and Easter eggs, there's likely more to uncover, and the community is already diving in to decipher it all.This development follows a challenging period for Marathon, indicating that the project is finally moving forward.
pic.twitter.com/6NBgIdRVK2
— Marathon (@MarathonTheGame) April 4, 2025
Marathon was first announced in May 2023 as a reboot of the classic Bungie franchise, emphasizing themes of mystery, eeriness, and psychological creepiness. However, Bungie has faced significant challenges, including the layoff of 220 staff members in July 2024, which represented 17% of its workforce. This decision was criticized by industry peers and came less than a year after another round of 100 layoffs, with staff reporting a "soul-crushing" atmosphere at the studio.
Further controversy arose when a report surfaced weeks after the layoffs, alleging that former Marathon director Chris Barrett was fired following an internal misconduct investigation. Barrett later filed a lawsuit against Sony Interactive Entertainment and Bungie, seeking over $200 million in damages.
AnswerSee ResultsAmidst these challenges, Sony is reevaluating its strategy for live-service games. In November 2023, Sony president Hiroki Totoki announced that the company would focus on launching only six of the twelve planned live-service games by March 2026. This shift in strategy led to the cancellation of The Last of Us multiplayer game.While Arrowhead's Helldivers 2 was a massive success, becoming the fastest-selling PlayStation Studios game with 12 million copies sold in just 12 weeks, Sony's other live-service efforts have faced significant hurdles. Sony's Concord is considered one of the biggest flops in PlayStation history, surviving only a few weeks before being taken offline due to extremely low player counts. Sony eventually decided to terminate the game and shut down its developer.
Additionally, earlier this year, Sony reportedly canceled two unannounced live-service games: one a God of War project at Bluepoint and another at Days Gone developer Bend.
