Sony Books $560M Loss on Bungie Deal as Marathon Stalls
▼ Summary
– Sony acquired Bungie for $3.6 billion in 2022, and recorded a $560 million impairment loss in Q4 of fiscal year 2025, totaling nearly $765 million in losses for the year.
– Marathon, Bungie’s first new franchise in over a decade, launched on March 5, 2025, but Sony has not confirmed sales or player counts.
– Marathon struggles to stay in the top-10 most played games on consoles and PC, averaging 10,000–15,000 concurrent players on Steam.
– Destiny 2 is at its lowest concurrent player count ever on Steam, and Bungie has undergone multiple layoffs and a CEO change since the acquisition.
– Analysts suggest Sony may need to cut Marathon’s $40 price or offer a free trial to boost momentum, as the game lacks aggressive player acquisition moves.
Sony has posted a staggering $560 million impairment charge tied to its 2022 acquisition of Bungie, a purchase that originally cost the PlayStation maker $3.6 billion. The loss was recorded in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2025, which ended just four weeks after the launch of Bungie’s long-awaited new title, Marathon.
The company cited “recording of impairment losses against Bungie, Inc.’s intangible and other assets” as a key negative factor, with total impairments of 120.1 billion yen (about $765 million) for the full fiscal year. Sony acknowledged the possibility of further losses from the Bungie deal in fiscal year 2026.
Marathon, Bungie’s first original franchise in more than a decade, launched on March 5. Two months later, Sony has yet to disclose sales figures or total player counts for the extraction shooter. Although the game has received praise from critics and fans, it has struggled to break into the weekly top-10 most-played titles on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, or PC.
On Steam, where the majority of copies are reportedly sold, Marathon currently averages between 10,000 and 15,000 concurrent players. That figure pales in comparison to Destiny 2’s historic highs, and Bungie’s flagship loot shooter is itself at its lowest concurrent player count ever on the platform.
Since the acquisition, Bungie has endured multiple rounds of mass layoffs and a change in leadership, with former CEO Pete Parsons replaced. Industry watchers and fans alike are bracing for more potential cuts, given the studio’s high operating costs and the underwhelming performance of its two live-service titles.
Marathon has experimented with more casual-friendly modes to attract new players, but shifting the game’s trajectory will likely require more aggressive moves from Sony. Options could include reducing the $40 price tag or offering a free trial weekend, both of which dedicated fans have repeatedly requested.
Correction: An earlier version of this article misstated Bungie’s sale price. It was $3.6 billion.
(Source: Kotaku)
