Marathon has been indefinitely postponed following feedback from the Alpha Playtest. Discover more about developer Bungie’s reasoning and what areas they will be concentrating on in the near future.

Marathon Won’t Launch on September 23

Alpha Playtest Feedback Influenced the Decision

Bungie’s forthcoming sci-fi extraction shooter, Marathon, is now facing an indefinite delay due to “passionate” responses from players during its Alpha testing phase. As stated in a June 17 post on Bungie.net, the development team paid close attention to every “comment and real-time discussion across social media and Discord.”

This led them to conclude that launching the game on September 23 was not feasible. Bungie noted, “The Alpha test gave us a chance to refine and center the game around what makes it truly special—intense survival scenarios, mystery and lore at every turn, raid-style endgame content, and Bungie’s signature FPS gameplay.”

The extra time will be used to reinforce the development team and ensure the best possible version of Marathon. It also provides an opportunity to further engage with the community and address their concerns and suggestions.

Prior to Bungie’s official statement, Sony had only announced Marathon’s release window as fiscal year 2025, without specifying an exact date. This fueled rumors that the game might be delayed, which were later confirmed. Some fans have also speculated that recent plagiarism allegations surrounding the game may have contributed to the setback.

While Bungie plans to reveal a new release date this Fall, Sony’s most recent financial briefing still lists Marathon for a launch within their fiscal year (ending March 31, 2026).

Big Changes Expected in the Coming Months

Bungie shared their roadmap for the upcoming months, including continued closed testing with Alpha participants and rolling out gameplay updates and new features. They highlighted several key focus areas:

● Enhancing the Survival Experience
● Introducing more intense and engaging AI encounters
● Making each run more satisfying with new loot types and dynamic events
● Improving combat to feel more strategic and thrilling
● Expanding the Marathon Universe
● Boosting visual quality
● Adding deeper narrative elements and environmental storytelling
● Adopting a darker tone consistent with the original trilogy
● Introducing more ways for social interaction
● Enhancing solo/duo player experience
● Implementing proximity chat for organic social moments

Reddit users voiced concerns after reading Bungie’s update, pointing out that the list covers nearly every aspect of the game. One user likened the changes to a “soft reboot,” given how much needs reworking or expansion.

Nonetheless, many fans anticipated this delay based on early impressions. Questions also arose about Fairgames, another live-service title from Sony, and whether it might face similar issues considering recent struggles like those seen with Concord.

Despite these concerns, Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO Hermen Hulst remains confident in the company’s direction in the live-service space. During Sony’s Game & Network Service Fireside Chat on June 13, Hulst praised their portfolio of live-service titles such as MLB: The Show, Destiny 2, and Helldivers 2.

He expressed confidence that Marathon will succeed by learning from past mistakes made during the troubled launch of Concord. Though indefinitely delayed, Marathon is still expected to arrive on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. Keep an eye out for more updates by checking our article below!

Marathon

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