Remember Marathon? It's the next big project from Destiny developer Bungie, and it seems we're on the cusp of getting a deeper look into this much-anticipated game.

Marathon is set to be a PvP-focused extraction shooter, taking place on the enigmatic planet of Tau Ceti IV. Players will step into the roles of Runners, cybernetic mercenaries engineered to endure the planet's brutal conditions, as they explore the remnants of a lost colony.

It's been a while since we last heard about Marathon. In October, Bungie shared a detailed development update video, providing insights into the game's mechanics but emphasizing that it was still in the early stages. At that time, player character models were still being refined, and enemy models were in an initial phase.

This development comes after what has been a challenging journey for Marathon. The game was first revealed in May 2023 as a reboot of the classic Bungie franchise, emphasizing themes of mystery, eeriness, and psychological tension. However, Bungie has faced significant turmoil in recent years, including the layoff of 220 staff members in July 2024, which represented 17% of its workforce—a move that drew criticism from industry peers. This followed another round of layoffs just under a year earlier, where 100 employees were let go, and the atmosphere at the studio was described as "soul-crushing" by staff.

Further controversy arose when it was reported that former Marathon director Chris Barrett was fired following an internal misconduct investigation at Bungie. Barrett later filed a lawsuit against Sony Interactive Entertainment and Bungie, seeking over $200 million in damages.

While Arrowhead's Helldivers 2 became a massive success, selling 12 million copies in just 12 weeks and becoming the fastest-selling PlayStation Studios game, other Sony live service efforts either met with cancellation or disastrous launches. Notably, Sony's Concord faced one of the biggest flops in PlayStation history, surviving only a few weeks before being taken offline due to dismal player engagement. Sony eventually decided to terminate the game and shutter its developer.

Moreover, earlier this year, Sony reportedly canceled two other unannounced live service games: one a God of War project being developed by Bluepoint, and another from Days Gone developer Bend.