Three years after Sony’s costly $3.6 billion acquisition of video game studio Bungie, the PlayStation parent company is changing its tune regarding the subsidiary’s independence.
Sony chief financial officer Lin Tao detailed the company’s journey ahead in the company’s August 7 earnings call. Sony Group Corporation shareholders in attendance also raised questions about the state of Bungie’s contentious first-person shooter Marathon.
When asked about Sony’s “governance” of Bungie, the Sony CFO detailed how the acquisition has changed in the three years since the ink dried. According to Tao, the Washington state-based brand will assimilate into the Sony Entertainment Interactive organization, the latter wholly absorbing the longstanding Halo: Combat Evolved studio.
” … the governance, at the time of acquisition, we were offering a very independent environment. So that was one way of thinking. However, thereafter, we have gone through structural reform as we have announced last year. So from this type of independence, this independence is getting lighter. So Bungie is shifting into a role, which is becoming more part of PlayStation Studio. And integration is also proceeding. So in the long term, if you can see this as an ongoing process, so the direction is to become part of PlayStation Studio.”
During the Q&A, Tao responded to shareholder concerns regarding the controversial FPS Marathon. When asked whether the once-delayed game is still expected in 2025, Tao said, “we are now fixing the problems. So we believe this launch will happen. And if this launch is canceled, so we need to do the revision of the valuation. However, as of now, this is not expected.”
While Tao didn’t give a firm date for Marathon, the Sony CFO divulged that they “expect the launch to happen within this fiscal year. But having said that, this is not a commitment. We cannot — no official announcement has been given yet. So we are expecting this to be launched within this fiscal year.” Sony’s fiscal year closes at the end of March 2026.
The PvP extraction shooter, first introduced to potential players in 2023, had a tentative release date of September 23, 2025. But in May 2025, Bungie faced art theft accusations from fans and prominent industry voices after independent artist ANTIREAL juxtaposed her 2017 works with in-game elements. The artist’s comparison went viral, leading the studio to issue a statement confirming the artist’s pieces were incorporated into the title by a “former Bungie artist.” Adding insult to injury, ANTIREAL’s elements were copy-pasted into Marathon, meaning that even ANTIREAL’s logo found its way into the game. In June 2025 — just one month later — Bungie announced it would delay Marathon indefinitely.
Since Sony Entertainment Interactive, Inc. purchased the studio in July 2022, Bungie has bid farewell to myriad notable team members in recent years, including prominent project heads behind Destiny and Marathon. The latter’s director, Chris Barrett, is reportedly pursuing Sony and Bungie over funds he says he’s “still owed” following the acquisition. Barrett, according to Forbes, was “forced out after a misconduct investigation.”
In addition to top-ranking team leads’ departures, substantial studio-wide layoffs in July 2024 cost hundreds of employees their roles — around 17% of staff. Ultimately, job losses hindered Marathon‘s production.
Tao also addressed the current state of live-service games during the call. “Five years ago, live service games were almost nonexistent for PlayStation Studios,” the CFO said. “We have Helldivers 2, MLB, Gran Turismo 7, and Bungie’s Destiny 2. So we have these four live services contributing to sales and profit in a stable manner.” Tao continues, saying the transformation is “not entirely going smoothly. But from a longer-term perspective, if you look at the changes over 5 years, you see that there has definitely been a change. Of course, we recognize that there are still issues, many issues. So we should learn the lessons from mistakes and make sure that we introduce live service content where there’s little less waste and it’s more smooth.”
Near the end of the call, Corporate Participant Naoya Horii addresses the impact of the Trump administration’s tariffs, stating that, “overall, from Q2 onward, the U.S. tariff impact will be felt more pronouncedly. And then also there will be more uncertainties. So in Q1, we had a really good performance. But from Q2 onward, we are more conservative and we need to take a more cautious approach.”
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A lifelong gamer raised on classic titles like Crash Bandicoot, Spyro, and Croc, Stephanie brings her expertise of gaming and pop culture to deliver unique, refreshing views on the world of video games, complete with references to absurd and obscure media.
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