Sony CFO Lin Tao in a Q&A session with investors was asked about the state of Marathon following its delay and if the delay was factored into Sony’s forecast. She was also asked about an update on management of Bungie and what would happen if Marathon was cancelled.
“First, about Marathon, how we factored it in the forecast, we expect the launch to happen within the fiscal year,” said Tao (via VideoGamesChronicle). “But, having said that, this is not a commitment. No official announcement has been given yet.”
She added, “We are now doing modifications in development and, based on the progress, in the autumn time frame we believe we can communicate when we can launch [Marathon], either from Bungie or PlayStation.”
Tao reiterated Sony has decided to take more control over Bungie’s management with the end goal to completely integrate the developer into PlayStation Studios.
“About the governance of Bungie, at the time of acquisition we were offering a very independent environment, so that was one way of thinking,” Tao stated. “However, thereafter, we have gone through structural reform, as we announced last year, so this independence is getting lighter, and Bungie is shifting into a role which is becoming more part of PlayStation Studios, and integration is proceeding.
“So in the long term, if you can see this as an ongoing process, the direction [for Bungie] is to become part of PlayStation Studios.”
Tao added she does not expect Marathon to be cancelled.
“We are now fixing the problems, so we believe this launch will happen. If this launch is cancelled we’d need to do the revision of the valuation, however as of now this is not expected.”
Marathon was delayed in June with no new release date. It is in development for the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Steam.
A life-long and avid gamer, William D’Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012 and taking over the hardware estimates in 2017. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel. You can follow the author on Bluesky.
Full Article – https://www.vgchartz.com/article/465423/sony-cfo-bungies-independence-is-getting-lighter-and-marathon-expected-to-release-before-march/
