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Marathon, Bungie's latest PvP extraction shooter, gets delayed following major layoffs at the company. While there wasn't any information about a potential release window so far, given the 2025 launch being considered as a delay, this indicates a previously intended release sometime in 2024. The developers are yet to comment on the matter.
Marathon was announced earlier this year during the PlayStation showcase and was supposed to be the next big venture from the studio following The Final Shape expansion. However, the layoffs bear grim news, and it does raise a lot of questions.
Bungie's Destiny 2 The Final Shape and Marathon delayed
Apart from Marathon, Destiny 2 The Final Shape was also delayed to June 2024. While this checks out the final season in the Lightfall expansion from the current financial year, it also means the final season will be six months long. As for Marathon, it's unclear how this affects the game, considering it hasn't gone live yet.
Multiple employees have expressed feelings of resentment and anger on social media after the layoffs were announced. And this does raise concerns about both titles. Both of Bungie's community managers have been laid off. While it's unclear if they'll be replaced post-haste, it does create a huge void in terms of community interaction and communication.
Marathon, on the other hand, was being dubbed as the next big thing. Although it's been delayed to 2025, it's hard to foresee any further issues. While it's evident that a lot of employees surrounding Destiny 2 have been laid off, it's tough to determine if those working on Marathon suffered the same fate.
The reason behind these layoffs is unclear but invokes disappointment nonetheless. While neither Sony nor Bungie has commented on the matter, it will be interesting to see how the companies deal with the fallout.
