Sony will keep working on Marathon after Bungie write down, but Saros and Wolverine carry bigger expectations

Sony is not giving up on Marathon, even after admitting that Bungie’s wider game portfolio has fallen short of expectations.

In its latest financial update, Sony recorded a major impairment loss tied to Bungie. The company said Bungie’s title portfolio did not perform as expected, leading Sony to revise its business plan and write down fixed assets connected to the studio.

That is a serious signal. It does not mean Marathon is being shut down, but it shows Sony expected more from Bungie when it bought the studio.

Sony still sees some positives in Marathon. The company pointed to strong reception from the players who have stayed with the game, including an 82 Metacritic score and more than 90 percent positive Steam reviews. It also said retention among engaged players remains high.

The problem appears to be scale. Marathon may have a dedicated core audience, but it has not clearly become the larger live service success Sony likely wanted.

Sony says it now plans to improve Marathon by adding more content, refining the gameplay experience, and trying to expand the player base. That gives Bungie more time to build the game instead of facing an immediate cut.

Here is the current situation:

Still, Marathon is not the main game Sony is counting on for first party growth this fiscal year. That role belongs to Housemarque’s Saros and Insomniac’s Marvel’s Wolverine.

Saros launched in April, while Marvel’s Wolverine is planned for September. Sony expects first party games to contribute more to earnings in FY2026 than they did in FY2025.

That puts Marathon in a different position. It still has a future, but it now needs to prove that its core audience can grow. Bungie has talked about long term plans for the game, and Sony’s comments suggest it is willing to support that plan for now.

The risk is that live service games need steady momentum. Positive reviews from a smaller group are useful, but they may not be enough if revenue, player count, and growth do not improve.

For Bungie, the next phase matters. Marathon needs meaningful content updates, clearer reasons to return, and a broader pitch to players who skipped it or left early. For Sony, Saros and Wolverine may carry the safer short term revenue hopes, while Marathon gets more time to show whether it can become the long term live service hit Sony wanted.