Bungie's Marathon is likely getting delayed, here's why

The situation with Bungie's Marathon gets more and more grim every passing day. Reports suggest that the game could be delayed further due to one major indicator. According to a gaming insider, Colin Moriarty, Bungie has no plans to do paid marketing for Marathon. This comes from a recent episode of the podcast, Sacred Symbols.

The news comes after the many troubling days of Bungie's Marathon, after the art theft scandal that took the internet by storm.

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Bungie's Marathon could get delayed if marketing reports are true

The gist of the situation is this: Colin Moriarty learned from a trusted source that Sony now has absolutely no plans to do paid marketing for Marathon. This is troubling news because the game is supposed to be a massive launch and has been in the works for over four years with over 300 developers working on it.

Here's what Moriarty said on the paywalled episode of Sacred Symbols, a podcast about all things PlayStation and by proxy, 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.”

To those unaware, Bungie's Marathon is set to release on September 23, 2025. However, having no planned marketing plans creates great issues because the game's reputation has already suffered after the art-lifting situation.

Reports also suggest that pre-ordering plans have been pushed back and that the game will now see public playtests instead of a major open beta phase as planned earlier. Overall, the situation with Marathon is slippery and could only result in some delays.