REPORT: Bungie's Marathon Marketing Cancelled In A 'Key Overseas Market', Game Delay Possibly Incoming

There seems to be little good news surrounding Bungie's return to an old intellectual property. Following initial hype around the reveal of Marathon after its closed alpha testing, a multiplayer first person extraction shooter, plans for a new trailer set to drop in June has seemingly gone up in smoke. A wave of controversy has hit the Destiny developer and their newest project, as marketing for Marathon was halted, according to a report from The Game Post.

Based on the story, funding and the paid marketing for the game has been scrapped entirely by what's stated as a 'key overseas market. Ex-IGN editor Colin Moriarty was the first to state the information, which he clarified on Twitter/X in a lengthy post:

During an hour-long discussion about Marathon on Sacred Symbols Episode 360, I said, verbatim: "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."

CONFIRMED PLAGIURISM

In May, Bungie confirmed allegations of stealing artwork. Scottish indie artist Fern "Antireal" Hook shared screenshots of her public posts from 2017 to images used in Marathon's closed alpha test held in April, which showed images from her original works utilized without her permission. The comparisons were shared on her Bluesky page, where she stated she lacked the resources to pursue legal action against Bungie, but confirmed a former staffer used the images. The studio affirmed they will do right by the artist.

With the mild and lukewarm reception to Marathon's alpha, and a major player overseas seemingly backing out of advertising the project, Bungie's latest venture appears to not be faring well ahead of its September release. This leads many to speculate if its troubled development may cause a delay. With other popular options in the multiplayer shooter genre such as Marvel Rivals, Overwatch 2, and Fortnite (not to mention Bungie's own Destiny 2), continuing former Sony CEO Jim Ryan's vision of breaking into the live service market is not bearing fruit. How much of an investment has Bungie been for Sony since the acquisition?

SOURCES: Bluesky, Vice