Another day, another game delayed. After the disappointing news that The Elder Scrolls 6 will likely not be out for another two years at the earliest, we now find that Bungie’s Marathon release has been postponed. Why is Marathon being delayed? There are likely a lot of factors at play here, including accusations of plagiarism that have been flung at the game, but the developer states that the decision is a result of their desire to better meet gamer expectations and release a “game that truly reflects your passion.”
The Marathon game will be rescheduled, but we do not have a release date available yet. The sci-fi shooter was expected to arrive in full form on September 23, but Bungie will now take a closer look at multiple elements where it can see room for improvement, and then reveal progress details and a release date during the Fall. Bungie’s decision to postpone the release of Marathon must have been a tough one for the team, but it’s better to wait for an improved version rather than rush out a game that feels incomplete.
The stunning visuals from the cinematic short revealed two months ago were extremely promising, but it appears there’s still some work to be done on the game. (Image: Marathon – Reveal Cinematic Short)
Bungie’s Marathon Has Been Postponed Indefinitely, but Not Cancelled
If you aren’t familiar with the game, Marathon is a futuristic first-person extraction shooter game that was under development by Bungie, the original developer of the Halo and Destiny series. The Marathon trilogy was first released in 1994 for the classic Mac OS with consecutive releases over the next two years. The series lapsed into oblivion after the studio began working on Halo.
The latest project, Marathon, was first announced in May 2023 during the PlayStation Showcase, and it was a big moment for the studio after it had remained silent for a long time after its 2014 release of Destiny, with no other exciting projects on its table other than Destiny 2.
The game was expected to arrive on September 23, and alpha playtests were recently held between April 23 to May 4, to see how gamers responded to what Bungie had to offer. PlayStation Studios’ Hermen Hulst claimed the responses to the playtest were “varied,” but the feedback must have been more critical than expected, because it was enough to prompt the studio to delay the release of Marathon.
Why Is Marathon Delayed? To Focus on What Makes the Game “Uniquely Compelling”
Bungie released a list of reasons why Marathon had to be postponed, but at the heart of it, the decision was reportedly to take Alpha playtest feedback into consideration and make some necessary improvements. “The Alpha test created an opportunity for us to calibrate and focus the game on what will make it uniquely compelling—survival under pressure, mystery and lore around every corner, raid-like endgame challenges, and Bungie’s genre-defining FPS combat,” Bungie explained in the statement.
“We’re using this time to empower the team to create the intense, high-stakes experience that a title like Marathon is built around,” it continued. The studio is working on changes in three categories: improving the survival game experience, expanding on the unique elements of the Marathon universe, and improving the social aspects of playing the game. Each of these focal points features a more elaborate strategy and gameplay, so it’s evident that Bungie has really thought about the changes it intends to bring.
Bungie is expected to make graphical improvements to the title while also bringing in a darker tone to its design with more tense combat. The studio is also expected to improve the quality of the game’s environmental details and storytelling for users to interact with. Despite previously explaining that it would not be adding a proximity chat feature due to its nature of breeding toxicity, it appears that feature will be going in as well.
While Marathon still has no release date, Bungie is going to continue testing over the next few months to see how players respond to the changes they bring in.
Bungie’s Plagiarism Controversy Might Also Have a Role to Play
While there appears to be a genuine desire to improve the structure, design, and content of the game, we also cannot ignore the negative attention surrounding Marathon. Bungie was recently accused of stealing artwork without giving the original artist due credit for her work. Artist Antireal, known on X/Twitter as 4nt1r34l, used her online presence to bring attention to the fact that assets from her poster designs were used in the Marathon alpha.
the Marathon alpha released recently and its environments are covered with assets lifted from poster designs i made in 2017.@Bungie @josephacross pic.twitter.com/0Csbo48Jgb
— N² (@4nt1r34l) May 15, 2025
Bungie, to its credit, was quick to acknowledge that a former Bungie artist had made the error and that the team had reached out to the artist and was working to document all artist contributions. This was a good response to the problem, instead of the team brushing off the matter as a coincidence. Despite that, we have to acknowledge that this isn’t the company’s first hiccup with plagiarism.
We immediately investigated a concern regarding unauthorized use of artist decals in Marathon and confirmed that a former Bungie artist included these in a texture sheet that was ultimately used in-game.
— MarathonDevTeam (@MarathonDevTeam) May 16, 2025
The company previously used fan art in its Destiny 2 trailer and a cutscene in the game. In each case, Bungie was quick to rectify the issue, but it’s evident that the heart of the problem has not been resolved with Marathon. Using art from uncredited artists in hopes that no one will notice isn’t the most respectable strategy towards success, but it has worked for the company in the past. It is unlikely that this controversy was a major reason for delaying Marathon, but it could have helped further the decision along.
After all, it’s better to release the game later when some of the negative attention surrounding it has died down. There may be other reasons why the FPS title Marathon has been delayed, but we hope Bungie hunkers down to make the needed changes so the final version releases to applause.
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