Marathon Is a Disaster for Sony as the Game Remains Far From Recovering Its Development Costs

Marathon has failed to make the impact in the live-service market that Sony was hoping for. In fact, according to recent industry reports, the game appears to be a real financial disaster.

According to well-known insider Tom Henderson, Marathon’s current performance is nowhere near enough to justify the huge amount of money spent on its development. While Henderson said he could not remember the exact budget, he was certain that the game’s revenue is still far from reaching the break-even point.

Sony’s Marathon Is Still a Long Way From Breaking Even

Industry reports and rumors suggest that development costs went well above $200 million. With a budget that large, the game would need either very strong sales or a large and active player base to become profitable.

Bungie is already trying to turn things around. As part of Season 2, the studio plans to make Marathon free for everyone for one week in an effort to attract more players.

The situation is raising concerns not only about the game’s long-term future, but also about the relationship between Bungie and Sony going forward. Speaking about the possibility of further problems, Henderson said he would not be surprised if there were massive layoffs in the future.

Bungie is already going through a difficult period, having also ended support for Destiny 2, making the future of the studio and Marathon an even bigger question mark.