Marathon is Missing The Point And Players Know It

When we started hearing about Marathon there was a buzz in the air. With Halo and Destiny leaving such a mark on the gaming world, we were all eager to see what Bungie had up its sleeve next.

But now, it’s rare to feel this confident about a game’s failure before it even hits the shelves. Yet here we are. Marathon, Bungie’s attempt at rebooting a cult classic, is seemingly fast approaching a brick wall. Between studio missteps, vague design direction, and baffling creative choices, confidence in this game has fizzled before it’s even launched.

What went wrong? Let’s break it down.

Dead on Arrival

Launching a live service game in 2025 is a much greater risk than it used to be. Player fatigue with the format is at an all-time high and successes or failures in the genre can feel almost random. Worse still, Marathon gets lumped in with the vague sea of ‘hero shooters’ or ‘live service’ games, meaning that those tired of the format have already written it off.

When people say things like, “Oh, it’s just another one of those games” it’s not because the market has too many extraction shooters, but rather that Marathon borrows so heavily from the endless pool of live service titles, without injecting anything new.

The reveal trailer hinted at something deeper, mystery, style, and a world you could imagine getting lost in. But then the gameplay trailer dropped, and that curiosity drained away. What we got was generic corridor shooting, androids with no real presence, and a recycled marketing line about ‘best-in-class gunplay from Bungie’, with no mention of how it’s evolved. If that’s the main draw, why not just play Destiny?

The trailer was Bungie’s chance to show what makes Marathon different. There were no standout mechanics, no tone-setting visuals, no hook. Even something like the blue blood detail from the reveal, which added world-building weight, was gone. Now, enemies just vanish and drop a bag. If there’s more to the game, Bungie didn’t show it. And you don’t get a second shot at a first impression.

Another big issue? To a casual player it’s not even clear what Marathon really is. If you’re not already familiar with extraction shooters, the gameplay trailers might just look like a stylish PvP arena, something closer to Call of Duty or Overwatch. But the moment you die and lose your entire inventory, the tone shifts dramatically. Some could be blindsided by this and immediately put off.

And even for those who do get invested, Bungie has confirmed seasonal resets where everyone’s inventory is wiped. While that might help latecomers feel like they’re not falling behind, it also risks alienating core players who’ve spent hours farming for rare gear, only to see it vanish at the end of the season. Will they really want to do it all again?

I Don’t Need a Hero

Instead of letting players build and customise their own characters, Marathon features a set of predefined android ‘heroes.’ For a studio that nailed player customisation in Destiny, this feels like a massive step backwards.

Imagine the potential here: looting new body parts, unlocking rare cosmetic upgrades, or scavenging custom paint jobs you want to protect. That kind of personalisation creates emotional stakes, and those stakes are what make extraction games work. But with generic avatars and no player identity, there’s nothing to fight for.

Context is King

The reveal trailer? At the time of writing: 22 million views. The gameplay trailer? Just 1 million. That’s not just coincidence, it’s a signal. People are intrigued by the look, the lore, the atmosphere. But once the gameplay surfaced without any narrative or emotional grounding, the interest faded fast.

A strong story mode or proper PvE elements wouldn’t just attract narrative-focused players, it would also deepen the world. Give people something to latch onto. Memorable set-pieces, iconic characters, and lore-rich environments provide meaningful moments. Without that, you’re left with a stylish shell. Cool to look at, but empty on the inside.

No New Tricks

Why are we looting? What’s the reward? Why should I care if my character, a disposable android, lives or dies?

Marathon lacks a unique hook to make its world or gameplay loop stand out. It’s not just about ‘having lore,’ it’s about earning it.

Here’s an idea. You’re looting through a building: ammo, computer chips, the usual. Then you find a data disk. It’s clearly rare. You grab it… and everything changes.

The lights go out. Security systems trigger. A tracking ping starts broadcasting your location to every other player on the map. Do you drop it and hide, or risk extraction with the entire server hunting you down?

If you make it out, you get a huge stack of credits, but more than that, the disk unlocks a previously hidden piece of the planet’s lore. The discovery is shared with the entire community. And next to that lore entry? Your name, your time of extraction, forever etched into the record.

There you go, Bungie. That one’s for free.

Bungie should be leaning into ideas like this, something to give the game an edge, a reason for players to care. But instead, they seem content to follow genre conventions without questioning them. And it shows.

Goodwill Vaulted

Destiny players still feel the sting of content being vaulted. Right now, trust isn’t just thin. It’s threadbare. That wound hasn’t healed, and now Bungie is asking players to buy in again? It’s a hard sell.

And somehow, there’s no solo queue option. Marathon only supports three-player squads, meaning if you don’t have two friends online, you’re either queueing with randoms or entering lopsided matches against coordinated teams. Nothing in the game is balanced around playing alone. A solo mode would add so much value, and yet Bungie left it out. It’s another example of how poorly the player experience seems to have been considered.

How could the decision to drop proximity chat happen? That single feature has created some of the most unforgettable moments in multiplayer gaming: tense negotiations, brutal betrayals, spontaneous teamwork. Bungie has confirmed there’ll be no proximity chat, and that’s a staggering oversight. Why strip away the soul of social gameplay?

Then there’s the recent controversy over alleged art theft. Whether it was intentional or not, the ‘Art Raiders’ nickname has stuck, and fans aren’t letting go. Combine that with a reused IP that barely resembles the original Marathon, and it’s easy to see why long-time fans feel alienated.

The core question remains: who is this game for? Hardcore extraction fans are already loyal to titles like Escape from Tarkov. Casual players are gravitating to more polished experiences. Marathon feels stuck between audiences, and doesn’t seem to understand either of them.

Goodbye, Bungie?

I truly want Marathon to succeed. I want Bungie to prove us all wrong. But at this point, I don’t believe it’s possible. A meaningful delay could help, but Sony likely won’t allow one due to mounting production costs. And even if they did, time is currently being spent scrubbing stolen assets.

The game is just four months out, and rumours suggest Sony has already cancelled planned marketing campaigns. It’s unclear what this means: a delay, reduced support, or something worse. But it paints a worrying picture. If even Sony is pulling back, what does that say about confidence behind the scenes?

We’ll find out soon enough. But right now, Marathon doesn’t look like a race worth running.