The guillotine has fallen: “Marathon,” Bungie’s developed first-person shooter extraction game, is postponed indefinitely. This decision was somewhat anticipated by the industry following a series of negative developments affecting the studio. Behind the stylized trailers and competitive aspirations, the reality of the development process appears much more challenging. Initially, feedback from alpha testing had a startling impact: gameplay was described as “flat,” pacing was deemed monotonous, and the AI was found to be unable to keep up with the desired pace. Additionally, a scandal emerged over a plagiarized asset that was directly inspired by artist Fern Hook’s work, severely damaging the game’s reputation. Major shareholder Sony did not hesitate to take action: marketing efforts were frozen, and communication ceased. Since then, there have been no signs of any progress on “Marathon.”
Bungie is attempting to mitigate the damage and in a statement, the studio promises to utilize this reprieve to strengthen three crucial pillars: more intense survival gameplay (less scripted AI, more strategic combat, more rewarding progression), a richer and darker universe, and finally, an enhanced social aspect (improvements for solo/duo players, addition of a proximity voice chat). As for a new release date, patience will be required. Bungie is asking for ample time, but it is necessary to recover from such a poor start…
