Sony says Bungie's "independence is getting lighter" as it aims to launch the Destiny 2 studio's troubled new FPS Marathon before April 2026: "We are now fixing the problems, so we believe this launch will happen"

Bungie's delayed FPS game Marathon still doesn't have a release date, but Sony expects that it'll probably launch at some point before April 2026, although that's "not a commitment."

Marathon got hit with an indefinite delay back in June, with Bungie putting its focus on "making combat more tense and strategic," as well as adding "more challenging and engaging AI encounters," in addition to "more rewarding runs," and more. This also followed public controversy when it was revealed that the game's alpha included unauthorized designs from an artist – Bungie said at the time that it was "conducting a thorough review of our in-game assets" to make sure nothing like that could happen again.

Now, as reported by VGC, in a Q&A session after Sony's latest financial results, Sony chief financial officer Lin Tao sheds some light on the current plans for Marathon. Via interpreter, she explains that "we expect the launch to happen within the fiscal year," before adding: "Having said that, this is not a commitment. No official announcement has been given yet."

In theory, that places Marathon's release sometime between now and March 31, 2026. This matches comments reportedly made by CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment's studio business group, Hermen Hulst (thanks, IGN), who in June (prior to the delay) apparently said the game would get a release date by then.

Bungie previously said we'd hear from the dev team again "later this Fall" with an updated release date, something which Tao reiterates today. "We are now doing modifications in development and, based on the progress, in the autumn time frame, we believe we can communicate when we can launch [Marathon], either from Bungie or PlayStation," she says.

Tao also speaks about "the governance of Bungie" more widely, mentioning that following the "structural reform" announced last year, the studio's "independence is getting lighter, and Bungie is shifting into a role which is becoming more part of PlayStation Studios, and integration is proceeding."

This is described as "an ongoing process" in the long term, but "the direction [for Bungie] is to become part of PlayStation Studios."

Rounding things off, Tao puts any fears about Marathon being canceled to rest. "We are now fixing the problems, so we believe this launch will happen," she says. "If this launch is canceled, we'd need to do the revision of the valuation; however, as of now, this is not expected."

Marathon is delayed, but don't worry, Bungie says it just has to work on the AI, loot, combat, graphics, narrative, playlists, prox chat, and oops that's the whole game isn't it?