Marathon is the next game from Bungie, the developer of the Destiny series, and it’s supposed to be released later this year. However, there are indications that something could be happening behind the scenes. According to a new report from the Sacred Symbols+ podcast (via The Game Post), Sony has cancelled its plans to do any paid marketing for Marathon this year. Right now, it’s unclear if this is a result of the recent controversy that has surrounded the game, and if this could indicate that the planned September 23rd release date has been pushed back.

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“I was told by someone familiar with marketing plans in a key overseas market that there are now no plans to do paid marketing for Marathon at all,” said host Colin Moriarty. “I don’t know if those plans were affected by what has recently happened or if that was always the plan or whatever. But it is considered a fairly unusual move for a game of this high profile.”

bungie’s marathon is currently set to be released on PS5, xbox series x|s, and PC

Moriarty did not offer any additional information about what market that could be. However, his phrasing of “what has recently happened,” is likely a reference to accusations that a Marathon developer stole assets from the artist known as “ANTIREAL.” On May 15th, ANTIREAL pointed out several assets in the Marathon alpha that seemed to be pulled from designs the artist created in 2017. That same day, Bungie essentially admitted to the art theft in a series of posts on X/Twitter. The company stated that “a former Bungie artist included these in a texture sheet that was ultimately used in-game.” The development team is apparently looking into how this happened to prevent similar mistakes in the future, and says it is “committed to do right by the artist.”

The art theft controversy has put a lot of negative attention on Marathon, and some Bungie fans have argued that the game should be pushed back anyway. On top of the fact that reception to the gameplay hasn’t been great to begin with, many feel that it’s going to be difficult to turn around public sentiment in just a few months. Some see a delay as the only way to turn things around, and if this report is accurate, Sony could be planning to do just that.

RELATED: Marathon Delay More Likely as Bungie Navigates Plagiarism and Morale Issues

Sony has been making a big push into live-service games over the last few years, to largely negative results. Last year’s high-profile Concord failure is still fresh in the minds of PlayStation users, and the only real live-service success story Sony has seen is Helldivers 2. Bungie was acquired by Sony in 2022, for the express purpose of helping with the whole live-service initiative. A few years later, Sony’s live-service games have largely failed to get off the ground, and Marathon seems to be limping towards the finish line. Until PlayStation and Bungie formally make an announcement about Marathon plans, we’ll just have to wait and see how things pan out.

Do you think Marathon will end up getting delayed? Are you still looking forward to the game’s release? Share your thoughts with me directly on Bluesky at @Marcdachamp, or on Instagram at @Dachampgaming!

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Marathon cannot stop being thrown into fresh drama every few days since its controversial Closed Alpha which led to a string of reports about things going poorly internally, capped off by a revelation that an artist had plagiarized art currently still in the game.

Now, we have a worrying report from Colin Moriarty on Sacred Symbols where he says that all paid marketing for Marathon this quarter has been canceled by Sony.

“I was told by someone familiar with marketing plans in a key overseas market that there are now no plans to do paid marketing for Marathon at all, I don’t know if those plans were affected by what has recently happened or if that was always the plan or whatever but it is considered a fairly unusual move for a game of this high profile.”

This tracks somewhat with what I was told a little while back, though he’s getting info on the Sony side (he’s trustworthy) while I’m getting it on the Bungie side. I heard the entire marketing plan was thrown out and had to restart from scratch, and plans like a new trailer launching pre-orders and a big public beta a month before launch were not happening. I didn’t hear anything about all paid marketing being erased, but I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s where things ended up.

There is now talk about whether this means Marathon is delayed or even cancelled after its disastrous couple of weeks. Delayed? I’m almost positive, yes. Canceled? It’s hard to see how that could happen given that it would be Sony’s second obscene live service blowup in a year. Blowing up a game on the launchpad this close to release with years and hundreds of millions invested would be insanity. It’s close to what happened with Concord, yes, but the difference here is that this is Bungie, not just a storied shooter studio but one that Sony paid (an absurdly overpriced) $3.6 billion for.

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You can’t cancel it now. It’s too late. You have to roll the dice, but to do that, you need at least some sort of delay to reset the narrative and polish and add…I don’t know, something to the game to make it more of a draw at launch. A delay is what I think this marketing hold means because you’re not going to bother spooling up a big ad campaign for a game that isn’t coming out until when? Sometime in 2026, from the looks of all this.

I have been on the “delay Marathon” train before, and I still think it’s the least-worst option, but my position has also evolved into thinking it simply does not matter. Marathon’s problems are too foundational, a class-based extraction game entirely unbalanced for solo play, not accessible enough for casuals, and not hardcore enough for existing genre players. Oh, and its cool art style that was the one thing it had going for it? You can’t talk about that without saying “plagiarism” in the same sentence, no matter how few decals may have been stolen.

The marketing spend pull isn’t a shock, but I get how it certainly sounds like that. The writing has pretty clearly been on the wall since the Alpha that this is not a game that can be released in four months, and it’s not just because of some visual polish.

Still, I have not heard anything internally about a delay (or cancellation, though those conversations are probably only happening at the top levels. But if Sony is making this move now, some public news may be imminent.

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Marathon, the new extraction shooter from Bungie, might have been delayed, according to a new report based on inside information from the company. Sony, on its side, may have canceled all marketing plans for the next few months.

Problems with the recent Closed Alpha test, as well as confirmed accusations of art plagiarism from the designer ANTIREAL, could have pushed the management to give the game more time, to avoid a situation like what happened with Concord.

After the plagiarism issue, several reports have painted a worrying picture of what is going on inside Bungie. Multiple sources say that the morale among developers is dropping fast, with many team members frustrated by leadership decisions and the overall direction of the project.

Some have even described Marathon’s leadership as “toxic and humiliating,” saying that warnings to focus only on PvP (player versus player) were given from the start but completely ignored by the top managers. Another report says that after mixed reactions to the Closed Alpha, Bungie delayed marketing plans and pre-orders that were supposed to start in June, replacing the big open beta with simpler “public tests.”

Now, a new report from Colin Moriarty (thanks The Game Post), a trusted insider, says Sony has canceled all paid marketing plans for Marathon. This information comes from an inside source involved in marketing activities.

“I was told by someone familiar with marketing plans in a key overseas market that there are now no plans to do paid marketing for Marathon at all,” Moriarty said during his podcast. “I don’t know if those plans were affected by what has recently happened or if that was always the plan or whatever. But it is considered a fairly unusual move for a game of this high profile.”

For now, the launch of Marathon is still set for September 23 on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S. There are no confirmed delays yet, so it’s best to take this news with a grain of salt.

Summary Marathon is currently in a tough spot, with negative news seemingly being reported at every stop.

Via a new report, it’s being shared that paid marketing efforts for Marathon have been scrapped entirely.

That report echoes previous information about marketing having the plug pulled before a supposed June trailer.

With the game set for a September launch, a delay has become increasingly more likely.

Ever since PlayStation and Bungie held their major gameplay reveal for Marathon back in April, things have seemingly gone downhill at every stop. To start, in the initial hours following the Marathon presentation, Bungie had to respond to concerns about the game’s still unreported pricing. Then, it was revealed that the game won’t have proximity chat, a key feature of extraction shooters.

Related Marathon Is The Casual Extraction Shooter No One Wants Marathon takes the friction out of the extraction shooter genre, but the friction is what gives the genre its depth.

If that wasn’t enough, Bungie scrapped the Closed Alpha NDA requirement following mixed responses to the game. And if all of that wasn’t enough, then an artist accused Bungie of plagiarizing her artwork, a claim that Bungie confirmed was true.

As a result, morale is in a “free-fall,” according to a recent report, with employees describing the environment surrounding the live-service title as “actively hostile.” All of that has put Marathon, a game that will reportedly need to be one of 2025s top five best-selling games to be considered a success, in a bad spot. Now, further reporting has suggested that things have only gotten worse.

Marathon Is Taking Heavy Blows Left And Right

As first reported by The Game Post, paid marketing for Marathon has apparently been canceled altogether. The information was first relayed by ex-IGN editor and current PlayStation podcaster Colin Moriarty, who reported the information via a person familiar with marketing.

“I was told by someone familiar with marketing plans in a key overseas market that there are now no plans to do paid marketing for Marathon at all,” Moriarty reportedly said. “I don’t know if those plans were affected by what has recently happened or if that was always the plan or whatever. But it is considered a fairly unusual move for a game of this high profile.”

Moriarty’s reporting echoes what Paul Tassi of Forbes reported a week ago that Bungie had pulled the plug on the “main” marketing plan for Marathon, which would have reportedly included a trailer next month, along with the opening of preorders to gamers. Those plans are apparently being reworked.

The developments have created a scenario in which Marathon could potentially be delayed from its planned September launch. Both Sony and Bungie cannot afford another bomb, and the environment surrounding the game is getting more and more negative.

Wondering if Bungie’s new Marathon game is delayed? Here’s the latest on the release date, pre-orders, open beta, and public playtests for Marathon in 2025.

Bungie’s new extraction shooter, Marathon, has been the talk of the community for months. But with new reports coming out, many are now wondering if the game will actually hit its expected release date, or if a delay is on the way.

Let’s break down exactly what’s going on with Marathon’s launch plans, including pre-orders, the open beta, and playtests.

What’s Going On With Marathon’s Release?

Marathon is Bungie’s next big game after Destiny, that’s been in development for over five years. But recently, things haven’t exactly been smooth. According to several reports, the team behind Marathon has faced a rough patch after a closed alpha test received a lot of negative feedback. Players and even Bungie employees themselves were critical of the gameplay direction and overall experience.

On top of that, the studio found itself dealing with an art plagiarism controversy from the alpha build, which led to a public apology from the game’s art director. The morale inside the studio has been described as in “free-fall.”

Image: Bungie

What Happened With Marathon’s Pre-Orders and Marketing?

Originally, Bungie had big marketing plans lined up. There was supposed to be a brand-new trailer and the start of pre-orders in June 2025. However, a new report now claims that these pre-order plans and the planned trailer have both been scrapped.

This decision seems to have come after Bungie released the Closed Alpha of the game, which received mixed reactions from both fans and critics alike.

Image: Bungie

Is There Still Going to Be an Open Beta For Marathon?

Bungie previously confirmed that there will be a Marathon open beta, which was reportedly set for August 2025. This was expected to give players a more polished look at the game and help Bungie gather feedback before launch.

However, based on the latest reports, this open beta may no longer happen as originally planned. Instead, Bungie is now said to be considering a series of public playtests. The idea here is to let players try out the game in stages, rather than all at once in a single open beta event. As of now, nothing official has been announced about new dates or formats for these playtests.

Image: Bungie

Why Are There Rumors of a Delay?

A few key things have changed that are fueling the delay rumors:

Negative Feedback: The recent closed alpha playtests didn’t land well, with many players criticizing the overall direction of the game.

The recent closed alpha playtests didn’t land well, with many players criticizing the overall direction of the game. Art Plagiarism Controversy: Bungie also faced major backlash after an artist claimed the studio used her 2017 artwork in Marathon’s alpha build. The art director publicly apologized for this, adding even more pressure on the team.

Bungie also faced major backlash after an artist claimed the studio used her 2017 artwork in Marathon’s alpha build. The art director publicly apologized for this, adding even more pressure on the team. Internal Uncertainty: Reports say morale at Bungie has hit a low point, with employees describing the mood as “the vibes have never been worse.”

Image: Bungie

Is Marathon Officially Delayed?

As of right now, Bungie has not officially announced a delay for Marathon. The release date is still listed as September 23, 2025, and there has been no public statement saying otherwise.

That said, with all the changes to marketing, pre-orders, and beta plans, not to mention the recent reports of issues with development, many in the community and industry are now questioning whether the game can actually hit its planned launch date.

Image: Bungie

For now, all eyes are on Bungie for the next update. If you’re hoping to play Marathon soon, keep an eye out for news about the upcoming public playtests.

As soon as Bungie shares anything official about the release date, we’ll update you here.

What do you think about these changes? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!