Sony stated it remains committed to live service games, despite high-profile failures like Concord, and insisted Marathon will launch before April 2026 despite admitting its recent alpha received “mixed” feedback.
Hermen Hulst, CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment’s Studio Business Group, addressed this during an investor interview. Hulst acknowledged the recent Marathon alpha test yielded “mixed” responses but confirmed the game will release within Sony’s current fiscal year ending March 31, 2026. He pledged that mistakes made with Concord won’t be repeated.
Here’s what Hulst had to say:
The online service segment represents a major opportunity for us. But significant opportunities come with unique challenges. We’ve seen early successes like Helldivers 2, alongside challenges like Concord’s launch.
I believe genuinely great work went into that title—a tremendous effort. Ultimately, it entered a hyper-competitive market segment. I don’t think it was sufficiently differentiated to resonate with players.
We’ve revised our processes based on this to deeply understand how and why the title fell short of expectations, ensuring we don’t repeat the same mistakes.
As mentioned, we’ve implemented more rigorous processes to validate and revalidate our creative, commercial, and development assumptions, now doing so more continuously. This approach ensures we invest in the right opportunities at the right time while maintaining far more predictable schedules.
For Marathon, our goal is to deliver a deeply bold, innovative, and engaging title. It’s Bungie’s first new IP in over a decade, so we’re tremendously excited. We’re monitoring through testing cycles, including the recent closed alpha. We’re applying all learnings alongside our built-out analytics and user testing to understand audience engagement.
Frankly, some feedback has been mixed—but that’s incredibly useful. That’s why we conduct these tests. Continuous validation of our assumptions is invaluable for iterating and improving the title. By launch, we’ll give it the strongest chance for success.
This cycle of testing, iteration, and retesting is essential for live-service success both pre-launch and throughout a game’s lifespan. We’re committed to applying our learnings to maximize player engagement and satisfaction throughout its lifecycle.
We’re also highly enthusiastic about Marathon’s planned release within this fiscal year.
Bizarrely, Marathon has an announced release date of September 23. Since Hulst references the fiscal year ending March 2026, this appears to indicate a potential delay.
