Sony’s Bungie deal is starting to look a lot more expensive than the original $3.6 billion acquisition price suggested. In its latest financial report, Sony confirmed a massive 120.1 billion yen impairment loss tied to Bungie’s intangible and other assets, which works out to roughly $765 million to $766 million depending on exchange rates. The figure includes 31.5 billion yen recorded in Q2 and another 88.6 billion yen in Q4 of FY2025.
Sony’s big live service bet on Bungie has not gone the way it hoped. The pressure is now squarely on Destiny 2 and Marathon to prove that the studio can still deliver long-term value under PlayStation.
Sony Takes a Major Hit on Bungie
Sony did not frame this as Bungie “losing” $765 million in cash. Instead, this is an impairment loss, which means Sony has reduced the value of Bungie related assets on its books because the business is no longer expected to perform as strongly as originally projected.
Sony acquired Bungie in 2022 for $3.6 billion, largely to strengthen PlayStation’s live service strategy and expand beyond traditional console exclusives. Now, just a few years later, Sony has had to write down a significant chunk of that bet.
Destiny 2 and Marathon Have Both Missed Sony’s Expectations
The impairment loss appears to reflect broader underperformance from Bungie’s portfolio, with Destiny 2 and Marathon both playing a role. Sony previously acknowledged that Destiny 2’s sales and user engagement had not reached expectations following the Bungie acquisition, and the latest report shows that the pressure has only increased.
Destiny 2 remains one of the most important live service games in the industry, but its player sentiment has been shaky for a while. Content direction, monetization concerns, delays, layoffs, and leadership changes have all contributed to a very different picture than the one Sony likely imagined when it bought Bungie.
Marathon Reportedly Cost More Than $200 Million
Marathon was supposed to be Bungie’s next major pillar, but early reports suggest it has not exploded in the way Sony and Bungie may have hoped. Reports citing Forbes’ Paul Tassi claimed Marathon had a development budget of over $200 million and likely more than $250 million, not including ongoing costs for maintenance and future content.
Marathon was always a risky project because it was not just another Bungie shooter. It was also a revival of an old IP, a PvPvE extraction game, and a full-priced live service title trying to win over players who already have plenty of shooters competing for their time.
Analysts Estimate Marathon Sold Around 1.2 Million Copies
According to Alinea Analytics analyst Rhyss Elliott, Marathon is estimated to have sold around 1.2 million copies across PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC, with almost 70 percent of sales coming from Steam. PS5 reportedly accounted for about 19 percent, while Xbox made up a little over 11 percent.
Many games would love to sell over a million copies. But for a Bungie title backed by Sony, developed over several years, and reportedly carrying a budget north of $200 million, the result looks more complicated. Marathon’s estimated numbers do not include things like battle passes, cosmetics, platform fees, or Sony and Bungie’s internal targets, so the full financial picture is still not public.
Marathon’s Problem Is Not Just Sales
The bigger issue for Marathon may be momentum. Extraction shooters are already difficult to break into because they demand time, patience, and a high tolerance for losing progress. Marathon adds Bungie’s slick gunplay and sci-fi style, but reports suggest the game has struggled to reach a broader audience beyond its core PC player base.
Elliott’s analysis argued that Marathon’s UI and learning curve may have filtered out new players before they could reach the deeper parts of the experience. That lines up with the wider problem facing many modern live service games. A strong gameplay loop is not enough if the first few hours push casual players away.
Sony’s Gaming Business Is Still Strong, But Bungie Is a Weak Spot
Interestingly, Sony’s wider Game and Network Services segment is not collapsing. In fact, Sony said operating income for the segment reached a record high and increased 12 percent year over year, despite the Bungie impairment. Excluding one-time items, operating income increased 45 percent year over year.
PlayStation as a business is still performing well, but the live service push has been much messier. Concord was shut down quickly, several live service projects have been canceled or reworked, and Bungie, the studio Sony bought partly to guide that strategy, is now tied to a major write-down.
Sony’s Bungie Bet Is Under Heavy Pressure
Sony bought Bungie to help define the future of PlayStation’s live service strategy. Instead, Bungie has become one of the most expensive warning signs of how difficult that market has become.
Destiny 2 is no longer the unstoppable live service giant it once felt like, while Marathon has entered the market with a huge reported budget and sales that analysts believe landed closer to 1.2 million than a breakout hit.
