Bungie reportedly canceled Destiny 2 spinoff to focus on upcoming extraction shooter Marathon

Although rumors surrounding the Destiny 2 spinoff Payback were rife in the days leading up to The Final Shape’s launch, a recent report has revealed that the studio shut down its production well before the last expansion’s release.

According to an article by Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier, Bungie canceled Payback “two months ago to prioritize games that were more imminent, moving the bulk of its team to Marathon, which is targeting a release in 2025.” That means, since the studio launched The Final Shape in early June, they had already decided to cut ties with the new IP for the more established extraction shooter, which Bungie is banking on as the “ultimate live service” game.

However disappointing, certain behind-the-scenes developments may have made this an inevitable outcome for Payback. In October 2023, a separate report from Schreier revealed that Bungie CEO Pete Parsons “told staff that the company had missed its revenue targets by 45% and was losing money.” This eventually led to an initial round of layoffs followed by The Final Shape and Marathon being delayed.

In addition, Parsons also stated in the studio’s more recent layoff announcement that they “were overly ambitious, [their] financial safety margins were subsequently exceeded, and [the studio] began running in the red.” Of course, Payback being shelved doesn’t necessarily mean it will never again see the light of day. Bungie may, at some point, restart development on the perceived Destiny 2 sequel (which, Schreier notes, should be perceived as more of a “spinoff”).

Unfortunately, Bungie’s long-term future remains murky, especially after studio veterans Luke Smith and Mark Noseworthy recently left the company. So, development on projects outside of Destiny 2 and Marathon may be put on an indefinite hold.

While you wait for more official details, check out some of the latest industry news, such as Microsoft and Activision’s new AA-focused dev team.