Marathon Expected To Be Released Before End of March 2026, According to Sony CFO

In a Q&A session following the company’s latest financial reports, Sony execs were asked about the current state of Marathon. Asked whether the game was factored into Sony’s forecast for the current fiscal year, as well as the worst case scenario if Sony later decides to cancel the game outright, Sony CFO Lin Tao said (via interpreter) “First, about Marathon, how we factored it in the forecast, we expect the launch to happen within the fiscal year. But, having said that, this is not a commitment. No official announcement has been given yet.” Tao also said she currently doesn’t expect Marathon to be cancelled, stating “We are now fixing the problems, so we believe this launch will happen. If this launch is cancelled we’d need to do the revision of the valuation, however as of now this is not expected.”

She later went on to say that based on current progress, “in the autumn time frame” is when Sony believes it’ll have something to communicate for launching Marathon, “either from Bungie or PlayStation.” On the subject of the former, Sony execs were also asked for an update on the management of Bungie. Tao emphasized Sony’s decision to take more control over the studio’s management, with the eventual aim to integrate Bungie into PlayStation Studios. 

After speaking to the independence Sony gave Bungie after the initial inquisition, Tao went on to say “However, thereafter, we have gone through structural reform, as we announced last year, so this independence is getting lighter, and Bungie is shifting into a role which is becoming more part of PlayStation Studios, and integration is proceeding. So in the long term, if you can see this as an ongoing process, the direction [for Bungie] is to become part of PlayStation Studios.”

This questioning and almost cautious optimism around Bungie’s next game is understandable given how turbulent the lead-up to its release has been. Marathon was originally supposed to be released on September 23, but the live-service shooter was announced for delay indefinitely back in June following feedback from the official reveal and Alpha playtest. This delay followed Bungie confirming a month prior that the upcoming game included work from an external artist who the studio did not get consent from prior—which is, unfortunately, not Bungie’s first rodeo with plagiarism accusations. Given all this, it’s anyone’s guess what the future holds for Marathon and its developers.