State of Play is a Bad Omen for Big 2025 PS5 Game

Summary

Bungie’s new game Marathon has an uphill battle ahead of it.
Marathon has found itself at the center of a plagiarism controversy and its gameplay has received a lukewarm reception.
In the wake of these events, Marathon was completely absent from the latest PlayStation State of Play presentation.

Sony’s latest State of Play event came and went with no mention of Bungie’s Marathon, which does not bode well for the upcoming extraction shooter. Marathon is the next game from award-winning studio Bungie, best known for the Halo and Destiny franchises. It’s a sci-fi extraction shooter with an eye-popping art style, but the game’s art style has actually landed it in some hot water.

It was discovered that a former Bungie employee seemingly plagiarized some of Marathon‘s art. This discovery led to an apology from Bungie and the announcement that the team would be combing through the game to identify and remove any other potentially plagiarized assets. The Marathon art plagiarism controversy has soured public perception of the game, something that wasn’t helped by the lukewarm reception to its alpha tests.

sony reportedly has no plans for marathon's marketing

Rumor: Sony Has No Marketing Plans for Marathon Next Quarter

Rumors suggest that Sony’s marketing plans don’t include Marathon’s upcoming September release, which comes as an unexpected move.

Between the plagiarism controversy and Marathon‘s lackluster alpha tests, Bungie’s new extraction shooter has a serious uphill battle ahead of it. There were reports that Sony scrapped its near-future marketing plans for Marathon, and while that has not been officially confirmed, the game’s absence at the latest State of Play event is telling. Despite the fact that Marathon‘s release date is set for September 23, the game was a no-show at the State of the Play. While it could mean nothing, it could also show a lack of confidence in Marathon to turn things around between now and its release date.

Marathon Was Nowhere to Be Seen at the State of Play

Sony has not had great luck with its live-service efforts. Helldivers 2 was a hit, but Concord flopped so badly that the game was shut down and delisted almost right away. Marathon is Sony’s next live-service attempt, but it is having trouble getting off the ground. Fans have been calling for Marathon‘s release date to be pushed back and for the game to switch to a free-to-play model, but it’s unclear if that will happen.

Marathon is made by Sony-owned Bungie, but it’s also set for release on PC and Xbox Series X. Those playing on PC and Xbox will not need a PSN account.

Marathon‘s complete absence at the State of Play suggests that a release date delay could be in the cards. If the game fails to find an audience and is shut down like Concord, it would be devastating for Sony, especially since it spent $3.6 billion acquiring Bungie in the first place. Time will tell what happens with Marathon in the long run, but right now, it’s not looking great for the upcoming shooter.