Marathon’s September 23rd Release Indefinite Delay Brings Darker Times

The delay in Marathon’s development was inevitable. With the lukewarm response that the Alpha got from players, coupled with the stolen art, Bungie had to do something. In a blog post yesterday, the Marathon Dev team confirmed that the looter shooter is delayed indefinitely. With no date in the works, Bungie is in dire straits with Marathon. They will need to turn the ship around in the coming months.

Marathon Delayed Indefinitely

Marathon was set to release in September of this year. Unfortunately, due to various issues, Bungie has not only had to delay the looter shooter but also does not have a set release date anymore. Bungie wants more time to produce the product they feel we deserve. They listed some aspects they want to focus on moving forward with the game.

• Upping the Survival Game
  • More challenging and engaging AI encounters
  • More rewarding runs, with new types of loot and dynamic events
  • Making combat more tense and strategic
• Doubling down on the Marathon Universe
  • Increased visual fidelity
  • More narrative and environmental storytelling to discover and interact with
  • A darker tone that delivers on the themes of the original trilogy
• Adding more social experiences
  • A better player experience for solo/duos
  • Prox chat, so social stories can come to life

The next time we hear from Bungie regarding Marathon and its new release date will be later this fall. Closed Testing will continue, which includes Alpha playtesters, so that they can get feedback on the changes they are implementing in the future.

Final Thoughts

It has been a dark few weeks for Bungie regarding Marathon. The indefinite delay has made those even darker. With no set release date, it feels like we are way away from the game’s release. Hopefully, in the coming months, the developer team can work to improve the game and deliver a game worthy of its player base. There is also news that some of the developers on the Marathon team were unaware that the delay was happening, spelling even more doom for Bungie. Finding out that the game you have worked tirelessly on is being delayed in this manner will not alleviate the discomfort surrounding the game.