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[SomeNorseGuy]

Sony CFO says Marathon is expected to release before March, and Bungie’s independence is ‘getting lighter’ | VGC

“We are now fixing the problems, so we believe this launch will happen”…

www.videogameschronicle.com

Sony's chief financial officer has said she expects Marathon to release by the end of March 2026
"We are now fixing the problems, so we believe this launch will happen"

In a Q&A session following the company's latest financial results, Sony's execs were asked about the current state of Marathon following the shooter's official delay, and whether it was factored into Sony's forecast for the current fiscal year.

The caller also asked for an update on the management of Bungie, as well as what Sony would do in the worst case scenario if Marathon was to be cancelled outright.

Sony CFO Lin Tao responded by saying Marathon is planned to release within the current fiscal year, which ends on March 31, 2026.

"First, about Marathon, how we factored it in the forecast, we expect the launch to happen within the fiscal year," she replied (via an interpreter). "But, having said that, this is not a commitment. No official announcement has been given yet."

She added: "We are now doing modifications in development and, based on the progress, in the autumn time frame we believe we can communicate when we can launch [Marathon], either from Bungie or PlayStation."

With regards to Bungie, Tao reiterated Sony's decision to take more control over the studio's management, with the eventual aim being to completely integrate it into PlayStation Studios.

"About the governance of Bungie, at the time of acquisition we were offering a very independent environment, so that was one way of thinking," Tao explained. "However, thereafter, we have gone through structural reform, as we announced last year, so this independence is getting lighter, and Bungie is shifting into a role which is becoming more part of PlayStation Studios, and integration is proceeding.

"So in the long term, if you can see this as an ongoing process, the direction [for Bungie] is to become part of PlayStation Studios."

As for whether Marathon would be cancelled, Tao said she currently doesn't expect this to happen, saying: "We are now fixing the problems, so we believe this launch will happen. If this launch is cancelled we'd need to do the revision of the valuation, however as of now this is not expected."

Marathon was originally planned to release on September 23, but Bungie announced in June that it had officially delayed the game, claiming that it needs more time to refine and test it.

"Through every comment and real-time conversation on social media and Discord, your voice has been strong and clear," Bungie's statement read. "We've taken this to heart, and we know we need more time to craft Marathon into the game that truly reflects your passion. After much discussion within our Dev team, we've made the decision to delay the September 23rd release.

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[yogaflame]

Just add a single player mode and remove, if there is, any wokeness twisted gender ideology push and forced in the game. And this has to be exclusive for ps5.

 

[PatientGamer]

Bungie will be shut down within 4 years, just a matter of time imo.

 

[roosnam1980]

 

[Jinzo Prime]

They're cooked.

 

[SJRB]

Bungie's independence is getting lighter

What a wild quote.

 

[Topher]

What a wild quote.

About time that fat ass Bungie independence lost some weight

 

[ecosse_011172]

Just add a single player mode and remove, if there is, any wokeness twisted gender ideology push and forced in the game. And this has to be exclusive for ps5.

 

[Robb]

"So in the long term, if you can see this as an ongoing process, the direction [for Bungie] is to become part of PlayStation Studios."

 

[Klosshufvud]

What a wild quote.

Imagine these headlines

JUST IN, Germany's independence gets lighter after the taking of Berlin.

Political activists get their independence made lighter after protests.

After succumbing to a lethal accident, Jim's injuries made his independence lighter.

 

[Orbital2060]

RIP Bungie

 

[Ozriel]

Just add a single player mode and remove, if there is, any wokeness twisted gender ideology push and forced in the game. And this has to be exclusive for ps5.

 

[Embearded]

They should make a couple AA single player games for 50€ with Destiny gunplay and an ninteresting story.

 

[Punished Miku]

I still think the game will ultimately be fine. Bungie truly bombing with this game seems like exaggeration. As for Bungie losing their independence, good. Sounds like they have some of the worst managers of all time.

 

[Angry_Megalodon]

In corpo lingo, this means "Borg assimilation".

Bungie will keep the name just to save face but they are done.

 

[Fake]

Another Concord incoming.

 

[solidus12]

I hope marathon fails so hard that PlayStation is forced to sell or ditch Bungie.

Hermen Hulst or whoever was responsible for the acquisition should also be fired.

 

[ecosse_011172]

I hope marathon fails so hard that PlayStation is forced to sell or ditch Bungie.

Hermen Hulst or whoever was responsible for the acquisition should also be fired.

Like every stupid thing from Sony in the last 10 years, it was Jim Ryan.

Why do you want it to fail though?

 

[LordCBH]

Have them work on a D3. And Bungo was at their best when they had support studios around them also helping out. The PC version especially could use some help, so I'd get at least another PS Studios team in to help with that.

 

[skit_data]

Too little, too late tbh. They've given the Bungie leadership way too much leeway. I can only assume this was due to some legal agreement made before the acquisition, by the time they missed their own revenue targets by 50% they should've realized Bungies value in of itself had been severely overestimated.

Edit: Add the fact that afaik there have been zero reports of Bungie employees pointing the finger towards Sony being the culprit in the ongoing issues/layoffs/etc. Rather the opposite, I get the feeling that several employees were hoping they'd "save them" from their incomptetent leadership.

 

[rm082e]

Given the history of Bungie after the separated from Microsoft, I don't really see the gaming audience losing anything of value as Bungie gets assimilated and conforms to whatever it means to be PlayStation Studios. Destiny 1/2 seemed like a big mess that took them way too much time and money to finally get right, and then it was a boring let down for players like me who appreciated the single-player campaigns they had delivered in the past.

I wish everyone over there the best of luck. I don't want to see anyone get laid off. I also hope they can be happy and proud of the work they're doing. But it's clear their internal leadership had lost their way and they need someone to come in and put them back on track.

 

[solidus12]

Like every stupid thing from Sony in the last 10 years, it was Jim Ryan.

Why do you want it to fail though?

Because of all the controversies surrounding it and the game looks uninspired as fuck.

They need to focus on what made them successful in the first place. Pursuing the gaas dream has been a disaster for PlayStation.

 

[Dr. Samuel Hayden]

Reminder that sony could have remastered Bloodborne thousands of times with the money they spent on this trashfire studio

 

[asdasdasdbb]

Reminder that sony could have remastered Bloodborne thousands of times with the money they spent on this trashfire studio

Bloodborne 2: The GAAS Lovers?

 

[DenchDeckard]

Bungie are done. Poetic that it will be sony that kills them for their incompetence.

 

[Moriarty1889]

Just add a single player mode and remove, if there is, any wokeness twisted gender ideology push and forced in the game. And this has to be exclusive for ps5.

Agree 100% if any of that shite was put into this game.

 

[StreetsofBeige]

Independence lighter? I thought some people on GAF were claiming Sony brass already controls them. I guess it seems like Bungie still has some autonomy.

After Marathon launches, Bungie will be dissolved at some point. Or maybe the studio still sticks around and they become a support studio. They wont do it now since Marathon is still under dev. But once the dust settles next year they are done. There is no way Bungie is making another big game after Marathon/D2 eventually fizzle out.

You can already tell since Sony took some people off Bungie to work in a new studio to make their new game. As opposed to keeping it under the Bungie badge.

 

[Sgt.Asher]

It's hard to believe that Marathon was planned to release this year. Especially when Bungie admitted that they had no ranked, story or end game ready for release. Then it just looked like a worse version of every other extraction shooter.

 

[viveks86]

So Bungie's cord is getting shorter?

 

[Wishmaster92]

It makes too much sense for bungie to make a single player story game. At this point I don't event care anymore, there's probably going to be massive layoffs for this company soon.

 

[StreetsofBeige]

It's hard to believe that Marathon was planned to release this year. Especially when Bungie admitted that they had no ranked, story or end game ready for release. Then it just looked like a worse version of every other extraction shooter.

I dont think they truly thought it was fleshed out either. But Bungie has been a disaster since they bought them in Q1 2022. Pete Parsons did a great job selling at the high since it's been downhill since.

But I think they had to release it by fall this year to try to make back as much sales they could (also in time for the Xmas rush). But they had to delay due to the stolen art issue. If that didnt happen, I'm confident they'd probably still release in Sept and hope it flies.

They did the same with Concord. It had no SP campaign, not really any good innovative gameplay or tons of maps either. But still released it.

 

[Reizo Ryuu]

Random sony chads barging into bungie hq

Promptly surrounding the studio head like

While he just sits there like

 

[diffusionx]

Bloodborne 2: The GAAS Lovers?

That's coming out for switch 2 tho

 

[PeteBull]

Another Concord incoming.

With that delay game gonna need to make even more money to reach profitable status, which becomes more and more unlikely with every additional month.
Its not just couple weeks of delay to iron out bugs/performance, they probably thinking how to overhaul whole experience alltogether...

 

[Rush2112]

They're only delaying it for the bad publicity to die down then they can ninja release it and just farm the destiny goons for any money they can.

 

[Z O N E]

So let me get this straight...

Bungie declined Microsofts offer as they wanted to be independent...

Then accepted Sony's offer, only to fuck up so bad that they will probably lose the one thing they wanted in the deal...

What a turn around.

 

[Danny Dudekisser]

The mismanagement of this whole situation has been stunning... and pretty funny to watch from a distance.

Keep it up, guys. I won't buy the game, but I will enjoy the fireworks.

 

[Killjoy-NL]

I still think the game will ultimately be fine. Bungie truly bombing with this game seems like exaggeration. As for Bungie losing their independence, good. Sounds like they have some of the worst managers of all time.

This.

I wouldn't even take the nay-sayers seriously. Most hate live service games by default.