A recent rumor circulating among gaming analysts suggests Bungie's highly anticipated extraction shooter Marathon faces immense commercial pressure - reportedly needing to secure a spot among 2025's top five best-selling games to be considered successful. This ambitious target comes as the Marathon project navigates mixed early reception and recent controversies surrounding its development.

First announced in 2023, Marathon recently entered closed alpha testing, revealing gameplay that has divided potential players. While some praise its distinctive visual style and combat mechanics, others express disappointment over perceived content limitations and its premium pricing model. Bungie has confirmed Marathon will launch as a paid title, with industry speculation suggesting a $40 price point.

Industry insider Paul Tassi reports that both Sony and Bungie maintain exceptionally high expectations for Marathon's commercial performance. According to his sources, the game must appear on Circana's annual top five sales chart to meet internal success metrics. While Tassi doesn't anticipate Marathon will fail as spectacularly as Concord, he expresses skepticism about its ability to achieve this lofty goal given its current reception trajectory.

The project's difficulties intensified when independent artist Antireal publicly accused Bungie of incorporating her copyrighted artwork without permission. Bungie quickly responded to the plagiarism allegations, acknowledging the unauthorized use and committing to complete removal. The studio attributed the incident to actions by a former employee during pre-production phases.

Reports indicate this controversy has significantly impacted morale at Bungie, with some employees describing workplace atmosphere as particularly negative. The studio has pledged comprehensive asset audits to eliminate any remaining unauthorized content, though the timeline for this process remains uncertain. These complications have led to speculation about potential delays to Marathon's scheduled September 2025 release.

Interestingly, many alpha testers have reportedly requested a delay until 2026, arguing the game requires additional development time. Despite these concerns, Bungie appears determined to maintain its current release schedule. As the situation develops, the gaming community watches closely to see whether Marathon can overcome these obstacles to achieve its ambitious commercial targets.