Sony Assures Marathon Won’t Repeat Concord’s Mistakes
▼ Summary
– Claire is an avid RPG enthusiast with extensive playtime in Baldur’s Gate 3 and Cyberpunk 2077, and a passion for obscure Japanese horror games and The Sims.
– Sony’s Hermen Hulst acknowledged Concord’s failure, citing market competition and lack of differentiation, but emphasized lessons learned for future projects like Marathon.
– Hulst highlighted Sony’s new rigorous processes for validating creative and commercial assumptions to avoid repeating Concord’s mistakes with Marathon.
– Marathon, Bungie’s first new title in over a decade, is undergoing extensive testing and user feedback to ensure a bold and innovative launch.
– A former Firewalk Studios developer defended Marathon, urging against premature judgment and expressing optimism for its success.
Sony has taken concrete steps to prevent Marathon from suffering the same fate as Concord, according to Hermen Hulst, CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment’s Studio Business Group. During a recent investor discussion, Hulst acknowledged Concord’s disappointing performance but emphasized the company has refined its approach to avoid repeating missteps with Bungie’s upcoming extraction shooter.
While celebrating Helldivers 2’s success, Hulst didn’t shy away from addressing recent challenges, particularly Concord’s abrupt shutdown just months after its August 2024 release. He attributed the hero shooter’s failure to intense competition in the live-service market and insufficient differentiation, which left players unengaged. Sony has since overhauled its evaluation methods to better assess creative and commercial viability before greenlighting projects.
“We’ve implemented stricter validation processes,” Hulst explained. “This means continuously reassessing our assumptions to ensure we’re investing in the right opportunities at the right time.” For Marathon, Sony is leveraging extensive analytics and player feedback from ongoing alpha tests to refine the experience. Though responses have been mixed, Hulst stressed the importance of iterative testing to maximize the game’s potential at launch.
A former Firewalk Studios developer, who worked on Concord, also voiced support for Marathon on Reddit. While acknowledging their own project’s shortcomings, they urged players not to prejudge Bungie’s title. “Calling it a failure before release is unfair,” they wrote, highlighting the team’s dedication to delivering a polished product.
Scheduled for release on September 23, Marathon will debut on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, and PC, marking Bungie’s first new IP in over a decade. With Sony applying hard-earned lessons, the studio aims to deliver a fresh, compelling experience in the crowded extraction shooter genre.
(Source: Polygon)
