: the contract doesn't say Bungie are, were, or will work on a
: new Marathon project. What it does say is that if Destiny reaches certain
: targets, Bungie are allowed to take a certain portion of its resources and
: start working on such a project. It doesn't obligate them to do so. They
: could, presumably, change their minds.
I think the key point about the contract clause is that while negotiating with Activision, Jason Jones (and/or others in the Bungie hierarchy) explicitly acknowledged a desire to return to the Marathon. Yeah, he/they could change their minds, but I think putting something like that in a contract represents more than a passing fancy. I'd be willing to wager real money on the notion that Jones and others very much want to revisit Marathon with modern day tools. And I'd further suggest it's due in no small part to the game's staying power with its (admittedly shrinking) devoted user base.