Marathon, Destiny 2: The Final Shape Release Dates Delayed

Bungie‘s upcoming titles Destiny 2: The Final Shape and Marathon have been delayed amidst the developer’s layoffs.

Anonymous insiders at Bungie informed Bloomberg reporter Jason Schreier that both games had recently suffered delays. The Destiny 2 expansion, The Final Shape, initially had a release window set for February 2024. The developer pushed it back until June. Bungie’s next game in the pipeline, Marathon, will now release sometime in 2025.

The Final Shape is the next major expansion for Destiny 2. According to Bungie’s reveals in August, The Final Shape concludes Destiny 2’s decade-long Light and Dark saga. Additionally, the expansion adds a new destination, The Pale Heart, located in the Traveler. The Pale Heart will contain references to previous Destiny 2 locations. The Final Shape also features new Super Abilities and Aspects.

Bungie’s other title, Marathon, remains a largely mysterious entity. The extraction shooter reportedly employs a timed oxygen system that players regulate. According to the same report, the system uses replaceable oxygen canisters players must purchase or find around the locations in Tau Ceti, Marathon’s setting. The report also claimed that the developer planned to make Marathon the “ultimate live service.”

Bungie Hit With Layoffs

The news comes as employees confirm multiple layoffs at Bungie. It remains unclear how many and from what departments the firings occurred. According to Schreier’s reporting, an email to staff members from Bungie Chief Executive Officer Pete Parsons announced a meeting with remaining employees to “discuss today’s events.” Neither Bungie nor Sony or PlayStation released a statement about the situation at the time of writing.

Bungie joins a long list of companies in the game industry to suffer layoffs in 2023. Other PlayStation studios also confirmed firings in October. PlayStation studios Visual Arts Group and Media Molecule reported multiple layoffs just in the last week. In September, The Last of Us developer Naughty Dog confirmed it had let go of several contractors.

Julia Anderson is a freelance writer and editor. A lifelong gamer and bookworm, she spent most of her childhood either glued to a novel or the computer. As a teen, she found herself deeply embedded in the fan fiction community and discovered her talent for writing and editing. Since then, she's run her own freelance writing and editing business, Anderson Wordsmith. When she isn't reading or playing D&D, RPGs, or stealth-based games, Julia is usually found imitating old age: drinking herbal tea in her favorite chair, crocheting, and watching a Shakespeare or Jane Austen adaptation with her faithful dog, Ben.