Remember Marathon? It's the next game from Destiny developer Bungie, and it looks like we're finally about to see more of it.
Marathon is a PvP-focused extraction shooter set on the mysterious planet of Tau Ceti IV. Players take on the roles of Runners, cybernetic mercenaries designed to survive the planet's harsh environments, as they explore the lost colony that once inhabited Tau Ceti's surface.
It has been some time since we last saw or heard about Marathon. In October, Bungie released a lengthy development update video that shed light on Marathon's mechanics, but emphasized that the game was still in its early stages. At that time, player character models were still "coming together," while enemy models were in an "early state."
Now, half a year later, it appears Bungie is ready to reveal more about what they've been working on. A tweet from the official Marathon account featured a cryptic image and accompanying garbled signal noise. Fans have noticed ASCII art of footage from the debut Marathon trailer within the image. Given Bungie's reputation for mysterious teasers, hidden clues, and Easter eggs, there's likely more to uncover, and fans are already diving in to decipher the message.
Either way, it seems that Marathon is finally moving forward after a troubled development.
pic.twitter.com/6NBgIdRVK2
— Marathon (@MarathonTheGame) April 4, 2025
Marathon was revealed in May 2023 as a reboot of the classic Bungie franchise, incorporating themes of "mysteries, eeriness, and psychological creepiness." However, Bungie has faced several controversies in recent years, including the layoff of 220 staff members in July 2024, representing 17% of its workforce—a move criticized by industry peers. This followed less than a year after another round of 100 layoffs, which staff described to IGN as creating a "soul-crushing" atmosphere at the studio.
Further controversy arose when a report surfaced weeks after the 220 job losses, alleging that former Marathon director Chris Barrett was fired following an internal misconduct investigation at Bungie. Barrett subsequently filed a lawsuit against Sony Interactive Entertainment and Bungie for over $200 million.
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This all comes as Sony rethinks its focus on live-service games. Sony president Hiroki Totoki announced in November 2023 that the company would launch only six of the 12 live service games it was working on by March 2026, marking a shift in strategy that led to the cancellation of The Last of Us multiplayer game.
While Arrowhead's Helldivers 2 was a breakout hit, becoming the fastest-selling PlayStation Studios game with 12 million copies sold in just 12 weeks, Sony's other live service games either faced cancellation or suffered disastrous launches. Sony's Concord, for example, is considered one of the biggest video game disasters in PlayStation history, lasting just a couple of weeks before being taken offline due to low player numbers. Sony eventually decided to terminate the game and shut down its developer.
Earlier this year, Sony reportedly canceled two unannounced live service games, one a God of War title in development at Bluepoint and another at Days Gone developer Bend.
