Sony just released its latest earnings report, and it is very safe to say it did not produce the most glowing results. Overall, Sony is managing some pretty big losses, the biggest of which is tied directly to Bungie, which has been struggling since the launch of Marathon just two months ago.
Can’t Run the Marathon
Bungie found itself in a very precarious position as of late. The studio was originally acquired by Sony for $3.6 billion in 2022, and since then, the pressure has been on to prove this purchase was worth the steep price tag. This latest report highlights the glaring issue for investors that Bungie may not be as profitable a studio as it was previously believed to be. The report indicates that a sizeable $765 million impairment loss is directly tied to Bungie, with $565 million of that coming just last quarter. This issue was further emphasized by the recent release of Marathon back in March, as it is currently struggling to retain players.
A lot of Marathon’s problems stem from the mixed reception it initially received at launch. Some of these issues include problems with the UI, gameplay, and the oversaturated extraction shooter space. And by the numbers provided by Steam DB, the game is currently sitting at just over 6,700 active players with a 24-hour peak of a little over 15,000. Taking these numbers at face value from the perspective of Sony, this isn’t what you want to see from a studio you spent billions of dollars on.
Crunching the Numbers
Clearly, this is not a good look for Bungie, especially following the recent release of Marathon. By the books, this means the value that Bungie holds has dropped significantly compared to what it’s really worth on Sony’s financials. And it is this sudden downturn in value that can almost assuredly be tied to the issues that linger around Marathon post-launch. Hopefully Bungie can turn things around, but there is a growing expectation they will not be able to make up those losses simply because the games they’re producing aren’t raking in the cash.
