Summary
- Bungie has been in trouble recently, with a mixed reception to Marathon previews.
- It has now admitted that environments in the game were plagiarised from another artist.
- Due to all of this, morale is said to be low across departments, and devs are worried about Marathon’s launch.
Marathon launches in a few months’ time, but right now, Bungie is struggling to promote it. What should be a highly anticipated new release from the same studio that brought us Destiny is now tainted by controversy, as Bungie has admitted that plagiarised assets are in the game.
Now, Forbes reports that Bungie and Sony have rolled out an audit, trying to ensure that no other plagiarised assets are in Marathon, and removing those that have been found already. While this is being done, it’s difficult to advertise the upcoming live service.
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Speaking with Forbes, several sources within Bungie have shared how they’re feeling in the run-up to Marathon’s launch. One source says that the “vibes have never been worse”, and fears how the game will perform when it’s with us this September.
Morale At Bungie Is Low In The Run-Up To Marathon’s Launch, It’s Claimed
Employees say that morale is in “free-fall” right now, and are wondering what will happen to Bungie if Marathon underperforms. They describe the environment surrounding Marathon as “actively hostile” and fear that there isn’t enough time to put the controversy behind them before the game’s launch.
This isn’t the only issue that Bungie is facing. Forbes also reports that trailers were already being reworked in response to previous gameplay footage reveals and the closed alpha. Now, the studio is also having to look out for stolen assets.
Unfortunately, it’s understandable why Bungie are so worried. Last year, Firewalk – another Sony-owned studio – launched its own live service, Concord. This was a complete failure, going offline shortly after launch. In response to this, Sony shut down the studio entirely. While Bungie is much less likely to get the same treatment, it could be hit with layoffs if Marathon doesn’t perform in line with Sony’s expectations, given the current climate in the gaming industry.
If everything goes according to plan, Marathon will launch on September 23.
Marathon
- Released
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September 23, 2025
- Multiplayer
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Online Multiplayer
- Franchise
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Marathon
