https://www.bungie.net/7/en/News/Article/marathon_update

A darker tone that delivers on the themes of the original trilogy

So… Electric Sheep Four?

Sony has said it remains committed to live service video games despite high-profile failures such as Concord, and insisted Marathon will be out before April 2026 despite admitting the recent alpha had seen “varied” feedback. Hermen Hulst, CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment’s Studio Business Group, was interviewed.

“For Marathon, it’s our goal to release a very bold, very innovative, and deeply engaging title. It’s going to be the first new Bungie title in over a decade. So we’re really excited for that release. We’re monitoring, we’re going through the test cycles. We’re monitoring the closed alpha cycle the team has just gone through. We’re taking all the lessons learned, we’re using the capabilities we’ve built and analytics and user testing to understand how audiences are engaging with the title.

“Some of that feedback, frankly, has been varied. But it’s super useful. That’s why you do this testing. The constant testing, the constant re-validation of assumptions that we just talked about, to me is just so valuable to iterate and to constantly improve the title, so when launch comes, we’re going to give the title the optimal chance of success.

“This cycle of test, of iterate, test again, that is such a key component of the live service success, both leading up to launch but also throughout the life of the game. And we’re committed to continuing to leverage our learnings, to maximize engagement and player satisfaction throughout the lifecycle of the title.”

He's totally right about the importance playtesting in developing any game.

“For Marathon, it’s our goal to release a very bold, very innovative, and deeply engaging title. It’s going to be the first new Bungie title in over a decade. So we’re really excited for that release. We’re monitoring, we’re going through the test cycles. We’re monitoring the closed alpha cycle the team has just gone through. We’re taking all the lessons learned, we’re using the capabilities we’ve built and analytics and user testing to understand how audiences are engaging with the title.

“Some of that feedback, frankly, has been varied. But it’s super useful. That’s why you do this testing. The constant testing, the constant re-validation of assumptions that we just talked about, to me is just so valuable to iterate and to constantly improve the title, so when launch comes, we’re going to give the title the optimal chance of success.

“This cycle of test, of iterate, test again, that is such a key component of the live service success, both leading up to launch but also throughout the life of the game. And we’re committed to continuing to leverage our learnings, to maximize engagement and player satisfaction throughout the lifecycle of the title.”

Spotted by Marathon Bulletin on X (formerly Twitter), Julia Nardin has updated their LinkedIn profile to reveal the new role at Bungie. Nardin started as a Narrative lead in 2019, working on Destiny, and became the narrative director in 2022 for Marathon and Destiny: The Final Shape. In May 2025, Nardin was promoted as the Creative Director for Marathon.

https://insider-gaming.com/marathon-brought-on-a-new-creative-director-last-month/

Well. They say no news is good news… right?

It has to be a matter of them totally auditing every asset in the game. And until everything has been vetted, no imagery will be presented to the public. Right?

That's the insane thing here. I was thinking they could just sign a deal with antireal to license her works so they don't have to do this, but it raises the possibility OTHER artists were stolen from.

How exactly do you verify a given texture is NOT lifted from someone else?

They may have to redraw all the textures just to be sure.

Well. They say no news is good news… right?

It has to be a matter of them totally auditing every asset in the game. And until everything has been vetted, no imagery will be presented to the public. Right?

New trailer from Sony.

Right in the middle of the trailer is Marathon footage with a "Coming September 23, 2025" footer.

I strongly suspect that's an oversight. Another possibility is that the game is still on schedule, and the cancellation of promos is simply part of the process of cleaning up the assets to ensure the misused art is removed.

Or, the original source is just talking about marketing for that particular overseas territory. Which would make sense, since it's not the type of game that would ever be popular in say, Japan.

Yep, which would make the ridiculous thumbnail headlines I've been talking about more ridiculous.

New trailer from Sony.

Right in the middle of the trailer is Marathon footage with a "Coming September 23, 2025" footer.

I strongly suspect that's an oversight. Another possibility is that the game is still on schedule, and the cancellation of promos is simply part of the process of cleaning up the assets to ensure the misused art is removed.

Or, the original source is just talking about marketing for that particular overseas territory. Which would make sense, since it's not the type of game that would ever be popular in say, Japan.

New trailer from Sony.

Right in the middle of the trailer is Marathon footage with a "Coming September 23, 2025" footer.

I strongly suspect that's an oversight. Another possibility is that the game is still on schedule, and the cancellation of promos is simply part of the process of cleaning up the assets to ensure the misused art is removed. I can easily imagine this conversation:

Does our promotional material contain the art in question?

Probably.

Can we clean it up in time?

Maybe.

Let's go ahead and cancel the campaign until we're sure. What about cleaning up the game itself?

They say they can do it, but....

[sausage making is an ugly business]

New trailer from Sony.

Right in the middle of the trailer is Marathon footage with a "Coming September 23, 2025" footer.

Oh well. If Marathon is 'unmissable' then we have nothing to worry about. It'll be a hit!

New trailer from Sony.

Right in the middle of the trailer is Marathon footage with a "Coming September 23, 2025" footer.

The worst thing about the cultural landscape now is how these things have their own kind of power that actually affect outcomes--outcomes that would not have happened otherwise.

I'm not sure what to make of this.

If you're saying that things like the art theft would not have made a difference before youtube and social media existed, because we'd all be ignorant, I'm not sure that's a plus.

If you're saying that the game should be cancelled because removing the stolen art is not good enough, and that misleading people is okay if it serves that goal of getting the game canceled, then I strongly disagree with you.

In this post, though,I wasn't talking about the stolen art at all. I'm only talking about misleading headlines, which is all a lot of people get.

If you're saying that it's just a shame the entire internet has a hate boner for Bungie and Marathon, the simple solution is to just ignore that. Don't have a twitter page for your game / studio. Don't have community managers that interact with players. Just make a game, then sell your game. I've bought plenty of games from studios with virtually no social media presence.

When you invite streamers to play your game, you've opted into that cultural landscape. It's up to you.

I wasn't talking about Bungie in particular. I'm making a statement about our cultural landscape.

The worst thing about the cultural landscape now is how these things have their own kind of power that actually affect outcomes--outcomes that would not have happened otherwise.

I'm not sure what to make of this.

If you're saying that things like the art theft would not have made a difference before youtube and social media existed, because we'd all be ignorant, I'm not sure that's a plus.

If you're saying that it's just a shame the entire internet has a hate boner for Bungie and Marathon, the simple solution is to just ignore that. Don't have a twitter page for your game / studio. Don't have community managers that interact with players. Just make a game, then sell your game. I've bought plenty of games from studios with virtually no social media presence.

When you invite streamers to play your game, you've opted into that cultural landscape. It's up to you.

Kermit referenced YouTubers. My feed is full of "Marathon 2025 Cancelled," or just, "Cancelled: Marathon" headlines. These are all in the technically correct category (or just near it), but not giving enough context to alleviate the implied assumption that the whole game has stopped production.

The worst thing about the cultural landscape now is how these things have their own kind of power that actually affect outcomes--outcomes that would not have happened otherwise.

HEADLINE:

Report: Marathon Delay Likely as Sony Cancels All Paid Marketing Plans

Where does that say anything about Marathon being canceled? How is it misleading? I did not link to nor discuss any youtube videos. This is about marketing only.

Not you. Yours was clear and concise.

Kermit referenced YouTubers. My feed is full of "Marathon 2025 Cancelled," or just, "Cancelled: Marathon" headlines. These are all in the technically correct category (or just near it), but not giving enough context to alleviate the implied assumption that the whole game has stopped production.

I probably should have put this in response to his Zackdark comment, but he referenced it here too.