Sony CFO: Bungie's Independence is 'Getting Lighter' and Marathon Expected to Release Before March - News
by William D'Angelo , posted on 07 August 2025 / 3,710 Views
Sony CFO Lin Tao in a Q&A session with investors was asked about the state of Marathon following its delay and if the delay was factored into Sony's forecast. She was also asked about an update on management of Bungie and what would happen if Marathon was cancelled.
"First, about Marathon, how we factored it in the forecast, we expect the launch to happen within the fiscal year," said Tao (via VideoGamesChronicle). "But, having said that, this is not a commitment. No official announcement has been given yet."
She added, "We are now doing modifications in development and, based on the progress, in the autumn time frame we believe we can communicate when we can launch [Marathon], either from Bungie or PlayStation."
Tao reiterated Sony has decided to take more control over Bungie's management with the end goal to completely integrate the developer into PlayStation Studios.
"About the governance of Bungie, at the time of acquisition we were offering a very independent environment, so that was one way of thinking," Tao stated. "However, thereafter, we have gone through structural reform, as we announced last year, so this independence is getting lighter, and Bungie is shifting into a role which is becoming more part of PlayStation Studios, and integration is proceeding.
"So in the long term, if you can see this as an ongoing process, the direction [for Bungie] is to become part of PlayStation Studios."
Tao added she does not expect Marathon to be cancelled.
"We are now fixing the problems, so we believe this launch will happen. If this launch is cancelled we’d need to do the revision of the valuation, however as of now this is not expected."
Marathon was delayed in June with no new release date. It is in development for the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Steam.
A life-long and avid gamer, William D'Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012 and taking over the hardware estimates in 2017. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel. You can follow the author on Bluesky.
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Not surprising
Independence from Sony didn't work out then.
Bungie blew their chance to maintain their independence through mismanagement.
Bungie blew their chance the moment they sold to a company...
Higher ups probably saw the big $$$ sign and nothing else, based on rumours about how they wanted to manage the studio even under Activision.
Considering their very best games (Halo 1-3) were under the rule-and-thumb of Microsoft, I would say it (being owned ) was for the best.
Dissolving the higher ups would be ideal. I have no idea why Jason Jones let his company turn into such garbage. Jones is still probably talented, but Bungie has been awful since Pete Parsons was given hiring influence.
Why doesn't bungie make a proper halo game, but under a different
Name
MS dodged a bullet turning down the acquisition.
Bungie dodge a bullet getting acquired by MS again, they would have been gutted off or in the grave yard by now along with Arkane , The initiative or Tango games with their current output.
The price paid was insanely high. Bungie was not worth anything close to what Sony paid. It put them in an impossible scenario, where there was no way to meet the expectations.
So, yeah, MS dodged a bullet there, except that they were not willing to pay anywhere near that crazy number. So, really, there was no chance of them being hit by the bullet. Had they been able to pick up Bungie at a reasonable price, it's possible that it may have been better for both parties.
Would be funny of the leadership of Bungie would due Sony for not upholding their independence. This was an important part of why the studio agreed to be acquired anyways.
They should have read the fine print.
They wouldn't be able to sue Sony as part of the purchase agreement was that Bungie has to perform well and meet certain financial targets otherwise Sony can dissolve the board and assume full control which was discussed and revealed during the time of acquisition. So maybe do a little more reading up on all the reasons they agreed to be acquired.
