Marathon Absent from State of Play (Destiny)

by Avateur , Friday, June 13, 2025, 07:47 (1 day, 3 hours, 13 min. ago) @ Cody Miller

Sony has said it remains committed to live service video games despite high-profile failures such as Concord, and insisted Marathon will be out before April 2026 despite admitting the recent alpha had seen “varied” feedback. Hermen Hulst, CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment’s Studio Business Group, was interviewed.

“For Marathon, it’s our goal to release a very bold, very innovative, and deeply engaging title. It’s going to be the first new Bungie title in over a decade. So we’re really excited for that release. We’re monitoring, we’re going through the test cycles. We’re monitoring the closed alpha cycle the team has just gone through. We’re taking all the lessons learned, we’re using the capabilities we’ve built and analytics and user testing to understand how audiences are engaging with the title.

“Some of that feedback, frankly, has been varied. But it’s super useful. That’s why you do this testing. The constant testing, the constant re-validation of assumptions that we just talked about, to me is just so valuable to iterate and to constantly improve the title, so when launch comes, we’re going to give the title the optimal chance of success.

“This cycle of test, of iterate, test again, that is such a key component of the live service success, both leading up to launch but also throughout the life of the game. And we’re committed to continuing to leverage our learnings, to maximize engagement and player satisfaction throughout the lifecycle of the title.”