Bungie Delays Marathon Indefinitely, Promises Deeper Gameplay, Proximity chat, and Darker Tone

Credit: Marathon/Bungie/Sony/PlayStation

Bungie’s highly anticipated sci-fi extraction shooter, Marathon, has officially been delayed. Originally scheduled to launch on September 23, 2025, the studio has now pulled the release date entirely, confirming that a revised timeline will be shared sometime this fall.

This update, posted by Bungie on Tuesday, outlines several major changes the studio is making to the game — adjustments that may be tied to recent internal and public setbacks. According to Forbes’ Paul Tassi, even most Bungie staff reportedly learned about the delay at the same time as the public, which only adds to the growing questions about how development is being handled.

What's Changing with Marathon?

Bungie says it's now laser-focused on reshaping Marathon to offer a more immersive, rewarding, and tonally rich experience. Here’s what they’re working on:

Enhancing Core Survival Gameplay

• Smarter, more challenging AI encounters

• Dynamic world events and new loot types

• A more tactical, high-stakes combat system

Expanding the Marathon Universe

• Boosted visual fidelity to push environmental detail

• Deeper environmental storytelling with a much darker tone

• Stronger ties to the darker tone of the original Marathon trilogy

Building Better Social Features

• Optimized experiences for solo and duo players

• Proximity chat support to foster emergent social storytelling

The Delay Comes Amidst Turbulent Times

The delay arrives on the heels of a rough PR stretch for Bungie. Just weeks ago, the studio confirmed that Marathon’s promotional art had included stolen assets. Bungie has since apologized and committed to investigating the lapse while working to make things right with the original artist.

This controversy comes in addition to ongoing internal turbulence. Since its acquisition by Sony in 2022 for $3.6 billion, Bungie has laid off hundreds of developers and restructured several teams. Some developers have been transferred to PlayStation entirely, with one group forming a new team known as TeamLFG.

Marathon is Bungie’s first brand-new title since Destiny 2 launched in 2017. That alone has set expectations sky-high.

Despite being owned by PlayStation, Bungie still operates independently and has confirmed that Marathon will remain fully multiplatform, launching on Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, and Windows PC.

With no official release date in sight, the hope is that this delay will give Bungie the space it needs to truly bring the Marathon reboot to life.