Bungie’s Survival Hinges on Marathon as Destiny 2 Players Hesitate
Marathon has only been on the market for a few months, which makes it difficult to judge whether it can build and sustain a long-term community on the scale of Destiny 2. Still, Bungie’s future is tied to that outcome. Over the last stretch, things have been rough for the studio since Marathon launched, with many Destiny 2 players choosing not to move over to the extraction-style gameplay.
Even before Marathon officially released, vocal Destiny 2 fans were already blaming it for the series’ decline. Bungie then compounded the backlash by ending post-launch support, and that decision has only reinforced the idea—fair or not—that Marathon is somehow responsible for pushing Destiny 2 into the background.
The anger around Destiny 2 stopping is understandable, but the blame is argued to be misdirected. Marathon shouldn’t be treated as the villain behind Destiny 2 fading away. In a better-managed world, both games could have coexisted and even benefited each other, but missteps from Bungie and Sony meant they never really got the chance to settle into a peaceful split in audiences.
Now Bungie’s situation looks tighter than ever: Marathon is effectively the only title it can rely on, and the current signals aren’t encouraging.
If Marathon Can’t Meet Sony’s Expectations, Bungie Might Struggle to Regain Momentum
Quick scan: what’s driving the concern
- Marathon has been out only a few months, making long-term community strength hard to confirm.
- Many Destiny 2 fans are not switching to the extraction shooter.
- Before launch, Marathon was already blamed for Destiny 2’s troubles.
- Ending post-launch support for Destiny 2 has intensified belief that the situation was intentional.
- Marathon is exploring a PvE mode in an effort to attract players who don’t want a full extraction shooter.
- Extraction games may be trending, but not every title pulls the same player counts.
Marathon isn’t being framed as a bad game, but it’s carrying heavy baggage from Destiny 2 supporters who are already skeptical. Another major factor is that extraction shooters are inherently more niche than what Destiny 2 established. While the genre may be picking up attention—citing the success of ARC Raiders—that doesn’t guarantee every extraction title will land with the same audience size.
With Bungie now testing a Marathon PvE mode, the studio appears to be moving urgently to bring in people from the Destiny 2 crowd who aren’t looking for a full extraction experience.
Guess the games from the emojis.
Gamoji
Guess the game from the emojis.
Sony’s live-service push picked Bungie—but Destiny 2 could’ve been the bridge
Even with multiple major Sony live service projects being canceled, Concord failing and being taken offline after just two weeks, and the upcoming Horizon Hunters Gathering landing with lukewarm interest, Sony is still pressing toward its long-term goal. Marathon has been one of the few entries tied to that plan that looks positioned to keep running and maintain an active player base.
The problem is that it isn’t matching the scale of Destiny 2. And that gap matters a lot for any company counting on a steady live-service ecosystem.
It’s not certain what Sony or Bungie intended, but the idea floated here is that either company may have ended Destiny 2 support as a last-ditch attempt to push players toward the extraction shooter. If that was the strategy, it reportedly backfired. Players have organized server slam events in Destiny 2 and started online petitions aimed at telling Sony and Bungie that many of them aren’t ready to say goodbye to the long-running FPS.
Destiny 2 could have helped jumpstart the live-service era Sony wants so badly. Given how focused Sony has been on adding live-service games, it’s described as baffling that Marathon was prioritized over Destiny 2, especially when the two could have targeted different player appetites and expanded Sony’s overall live-service footprint.
There’s also the timing around Bungie layoffs. The claim is that those job cuts came after the announcement that Destiny 2 support would be ending, which is used as additional evidence that Bungie is stuck in a bad corner. With Marathon as the main lifeline, there’s a real risk that Destiny 2 fans won’t make the move—meaning the extraction shooter may not get the replacement community it needs.
Many Destiny 2 Players Treat Marathon as a Betrayal, and That Tension Isn’t Helping
Some streamers have reportedly stopped playing Marathon outright due to backlash from Destiny 2 players. The pressure shows up through comments and chat messages, including accusations that playing Marathon is a betrayal. In at least some cases, angry messages have called Marathon a “dead game,” discouraging broadcasters from enjoying or promoting the extraction shooter.
That isn’t fair to streamers or to the broader community. The argument here is that Marathon has plenty to offer once the drama surrounding Destiny 2 is left behind.
Sony and Bungie have made plenty of mistakes since the two teams joined forces, but Marathon still deserves a shot at its own moment. The bigger question is whether the companies will actually let that happen. Sony’s live-service direction, paired with a strong insistence on premium pricing, is described as actively working against the game.
Going free-to-play might be the only lifeline left
There are multiple reasons Sony should consider making Marathon free. The key advantage is that it removes pressure from people who aren’t interested in the Destiny 2 endgame or who simply don’t care how the transition story plays out. ARC Raiders might be able to justify its $40 price point, but the argument is that Sony needs to accept that Marathon isn’t currently strong enough to defend the same kind of cost.
The piece also points out that Marathon could potentially reach “those same heights” someday, but it’s believed to have a steeper learning curve than ARC Raiders. That difference may be scaring off players who would rather not spend money on a game they may not even enjoy after trying it.
Destiny 2 began as a paid release, then later moved to free-to-play and leaned on DLC to monetize new content. The suggestion here is that Marathon could take a similar approach, though it remains uncertain whether Sony and Bungie will permit that kind of shift.
Whatever happens next for Marathon could be make-or-break. Right now, the situation is portrayed as dire, with Bungie apparently trapped in a hole that feels extremely hard to climb out of. Still, the article emphasizes that Bungie has many fantastic and talented developers, and that Marathon’s gameplay and lore reflect that skill. It also states that the chance for Marathon to build a community as strong as Destiny 2 isn’t fully gone—but the window for Bungie and Sony to land on a workable fix is running out.
