Bungie has turned out to be a massive loss for Sony just a few years after the latter spent $3.6 billion on the Destiny 2 and Marathon developer. Even though Bungie has been keeping Destiny 2 going with Star Wars-themed DLCs and consistent content updates, as well as with the recently released Marathon, this hasn’t been enough to make the studio a positive investment for Sony at large.
Sony’s purchase of Bungie seemed like a reasonably sensible decision back in 2022. At the time, the company was at the height of its success with Destiny 2, and though the price was steep, it was a known fact that Marathon was in active production, and Sony needed hard-hitting live-service offerings for its PlayStation lineup. Now, just a few years after the purchase was completed, there is a huge amount of uncertainty as to what the future holds for Bungie.
Rumor: Destiny 3 Is in Development at Bungie
A leaker with a strong track record claims that Destiny 3 is in development as Bungie continues to grapple with low player counts in Destiny 2.
The Latest Sony Financials are a Bad Look for Bungie
Sony’s latest financial report notes a massive write-down for Bungie. Specifically, Sony records a $565 million impairment loss against Bungie on top of last year’s $204 million. That’s $769 million in total losses written against the $3.6 billion acquisition’s grand total. This information comes from Daniel Ahmad, the director of research at Niko Partners, a video game market analysis firm focusing on Asian territories. Even though Bungie has years of Marathon plans in the making, this isn’t a good look, and may lead to some adjustments as to how the live-service title rolls out its future content.
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Ahmad’s commentary was posted in response to a broader financial result assessment from reporter Takashi Mochizuki, which was very much in Sony’s favor overall. This means that Bungie is a particularly notable sore spot for the company’s gaming business, having been written down for nearly $800 million in under three years total. The big problem is that Bungie can’t rely on its historical golden goose to carry the company forward either anymore, as Destiny 2 lost 90% of its player count in the year following the Edge of Fate DLC release.
Even though people are always playing the game, Marathon isn’t as popular as Destiny was at its absolute peak. This, combined with Destiny 2‘s recent failure to maintain a constant audience, means that Bungie is in a very bad spot no matter how the situation is flipped. In practice, Bungie is dragging down Sony’s otherwise upward-trending financial performance, and there’s virtually nothing to be done about it in the short run.
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To its credit, Bungie has been addressing Marathon player feedback every chance it could. Updates are being released at a brisk pace, and the gameplay loop, which was solid even on day one, is getting better with each new patch. Marathon is unlikely to be the kind of flagship savior game that Bungie needs right now, and even though there are rumors of there being a Destiny 3 in early production, it’s unclear whether the company will be able to pull off a win before Sony cracks down.
- Released
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March 5, 2026
- ESRB
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Teen / Animated Blood, Language, Violence, In-Game Purchases, Users Interact
- Multiplayer
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Online Multiplayer, Online Co-Op
