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Bungie plans to share first details about surprise 'unvaulting' of Destiny 2 content soon
We should learn more about Bungie's 'unvaulting' of previously removed Destiny 2 content very soon.
Star Wars Battlefront 3 Could Land at Bungie, as Lucasfilm Reportedly Weighs the Halo and Destiny Studio Against EA DICE
According to a startling rumor, Lucasfilm may be considering giving Star Wars Battlefront 3 to Bungie rather than DICE.
Star Wars Battlefront 3 Talks In Early Stages With DICE And Bungie, Says Rumor
Star Wars Battlefront 3 might be happening. This is huge news for Star Wars gaming fans as Disney has big plans for the series. They are reportedly in talks with two game development studios over …
Bungie Drops Hint About ‘Destiny 1’ Remaster And PC Release
Destiny 2 is getting lots of content unvaulted, but a new hint from Bungie suggests a Destiny 1 remaster and/or PC port could be coming.
Bungie Officially Teases New Destiny Release
A Bungie high-up officially teases a brand-new Destiny game.
Jason Jones, Co-Creator of Halo and Destiny and Co-Founder of Bungie, Announces New Studio
Jason Jones, one of the co-founders of Bungie and a co-creator of Halo and Destiny, has announced his new studio, Stone Kite, which will work on projects across various entertainment mediums. The studio's first release is One Zero One, a limited-series comic book based on a manuscript written by Jones.
Halo’s former creative director urges Activision to hire laid off Bungie, Halo Studios devs
Frank O’Connor shares advice to Activision for how the Halo series could go forward…
Activision’s New Halo Must Leave Behind Xbox’s 15-Year Quest To Recapture Bungie’s Magic – It’s Time for a Doom-Style Rethink
Xbox has struggled to recapture Bungie's Halo magic for 15 years. Activision's new game needs to give the series a Doom (2016) style rethink.
New Report Sheds Light on What Will — and Won't — Return to Destiny 2 When Bungie Adds Back Vaulted Content
Bungie will freely return vaulted content it previously stripped from Destiny 2, but is unlikely to include everything fans were once able to play.
Marathon Didn't Reach As Many Players As Bungie 'Hoped' And 'Needs To Evolve'
The excellent extraction shooter is in a bad place
Bungie is freeing vaulted Destiny 2 campaigns after Marathon "did not reach as many players as we had hoped"
Bungie promises to unvault Destiny 2 campaigns and raids that were locked away, all while rebuilding the shooter's future, after a tepid response to Marathon.
Bungie says it’s ‘not done with Destiny’ and will bring back vaulted content
Bungie is reversing its controversial content vault that saw Destiny 2 content removed six years ago.
‘Destiny’ Lives: All Content To Be Unvaulted And Future Games Planned
Just months after the decision to end Destiny 2 updates and seemingly shelve the IP, Bungie has made a blockbuster announcement that Destiny will live on.
Following wide-ranging leaks, Bungie says Marathon is not 'merging' with Destiny
Will the return of Destiny take place in Marathon? No, says Bungie.
Bungie Denies Rumor It Plans to Merge the Destiny and Marathon IPs, Confirms Marathon December and March 2027 Updates Are Free
Bungie has stepped in to deny a rumor that it planned to merge the Destiny and Marathon IPs amid continued questions about the future of both franchises.
Bungie overhauls Marathon from original extraction shooter vision
Bungie says addressing player feedback requires the team to 'change both what we're building and how we deliver it,' as it prepares to focus on PVE more.
Marathon's permanent PvE mode and next major update delayed to December days before launch, and Bungie's "moving away from a strict season schedule"
It's a Marathon, not a sprint. Bungie's FPS has delayed its permanent PvE mode and next major update days before it was set to release.
Marathon Delays Next Major Update, Puts Focus on PvE, and Moves Away from Seasonal Content Amidst Bungie Struggles
Bungie's struggles grow more evident as Marathon undergoes more drastic changes, with a move away from seasonal content, a focus on PvE, and a significant delay for the game's next update.
Marathon Delays New Content And Ditches Seasons As Bungie's Extraction Shooter Fights For Its Life
Things are looking bad
Bungie Is 'Exploring' Subleasing Parts Of Its Massive 210,984 Sq. Ft. Studio After Laying Off More Than 600 People In Just Three Years
Some see the big expansion as emblematic of the studio's mismanagement
Bungie Confirms Plans to Sublease Parts of Its Enormous Bellevue Headquarters Following Mass Layoffs
Bungie has responded after announcing plans to sublease 210,984-square feet of its massive headquarters in Bellevue, Washington, saying this move reflects its continued focus on a “digital first” model.
‘Destiny 2’ Players Are Miraculously Unvaulting Cut Content From The Game
It is one of the most infamous moments in Destiny history, when Bungie announced that it could no longer support the enormous mountain of content the game was amassing.
‘Marathon’ Extends PvE Mode Trial As Its Pivot Ramps Up
If you wanted any further indication that Bungie’s Marathon is going to lean more and more heavily into PvE content, here it is.
Big Shake-Up on Sony's Struggling Live Service as Marathon's Game Director Departs
Bungie woes go on
Marathon Game Director Joseph Ziegler Leaves Bungie
In a surprise announcement on Friday, Marathon game director Joseph Ziegler revealed that he's leaving Bungie as of July 17.
Bungie gives Destiny 2 players a final farewell gift as the game enters maintenance mode
Bungie had one last surprise for Destiny 2 players, and it makes the end of the game even sadder.
Sony, Bungie settle with ex-Marathon director they accused of "predatory behaviour", bringing $200m wrongful dismissal lawsuit to a close
Former Marathon director Christopher Barrett departed Bungie in 2024, but filed a lawsuit after reports of inappropriate behaviour emerged.
Sony Settles With Fired Marathon Game Director Who Sued PlayStation and Bungie for More Than $200 Million, Adds Name to Credits
Sony has reached a settlement with former developer Christopher Barrett, who it had accused of sexual misconduct. As a result of the settlement, Barrett will be added to the credits of recently released extraction shooter Marathon.
Sony Settles With Fired Bungie Dev, Adds Him To Marathon Credits
Christopher Barratt had accused the PS5 maker of trying to avoid paying him vested bonuses from the studio's sale
Destiny 2 Players Get One Last Surprise from Bungie, Developer Reveals Limited Support Plans
Bungie has given Destiny 2 one last surprise as a farewell gift and revealed its limited support plans for the game.
‘Destiny 2’ Players Discover Hugely Overpowered Armor Set Before Closure
Destiny 2 has a new, overpowered armor set it has just introduced, but it is too late for Bungie to patch it before Destiny stops getting updates.
The Pressure On Bungie’s ‘Marathon’ After Destiny 2’s Death Is Insurmountable
Marathon was never supposed to be here, but now is tasked with ensuring Bungie survives as a studio now that Destiny 2 is dead.
Last Chance To Fix Destiny 2 Delayed After Bungie Lays Off Devs
Bungie is running out of chances to set things right in its sci-fi MMO before it's left behind for good
Bungie layoffs revealed to have affected nearly 300 jobs at Destiny 2 maker
Sony said this week it had cut nearly the entire Destiny 2 development team…
It's Xbox's turn (again), as console prices keep going up
Microsoft announced a price hike for the Xbox Series consoles today, the third in little over a year. Effective August 1, the Xbox Series S, which launched in 2020 for $300, will cost $500 in the U.S. The Xbox Series X, which launched in 2020 at $500, will go for $800. This follows a round of PlayStation 5 price increases from Sony this spring, and a slow-motion increase for Nintendo’s Switch 2, which will kick in in the U.S. in September. (Mind you, there were also eight video game industry price hikes in six months of 2025). The chart up top shows the sudden ascent of console prices over the past year, a sudden surge in an already unusual hardware generation. Prices had been flat for years, now “up” is the new “flat.” Game console prices used to go down across the length of a console generation, but not this time around. Microsoft’s explanation for the new price hike today: We hoped another price increase would not be necessary, and we have spent the last several months working with suppliers on options. Unfortunately, console storage and memory prices have increased by more than 2.5x and we expect another doubling by the fall of 2027. The entire consumer electronics industry is struggling with the current components crisis, but the effects are particularly hard on consoles. Unlike phones, computers, speakers, and other consumer devices, consoles are typically not sold at a profit, but instead for less than they cost to make. This is an issue well beyond game consoles. Apple announced price hikes on its computers and tablets today as well. Game File is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Subscribe Item 2: Brutal Bungie cuts Bungie laid off “most” of its Destiny development team and some developers who worked on Marathon, the newest game from the struggling Sony-owned studio. A WARN notice issued by Sony to Washington State, where Bungie is based, tallied cuts impacting 292 workers, effective next month. That’s strictly for Bungie/Sony jobs in Washington and wouldn’t account for any elsewhere. The video I clipped below shows the redacted list of Bungie cuts filed to Washington State officials. As you’ll see, I had to scroll for a while… In a note emailed to PlayStation workers and published online, PlayStation game studios chief Hermen Hulst offered the following explanation for these latest cuts at Bungie: This is painful news, especially for talented colleagues whose roles have been eliminated. This decision was made only after extensive discussion and careful consideration, and I want to provide some context on how we arrived here. Over the past several months, together with Bungie leadership, we reviewed the studio’s long-term direction, development priorities, resource needs, and role within our broader portfolio strategy. We explored multiple alternatives before concluding that a reduction was necessary to align the studio’s resources with its current priorities and long-term goals. In 2022, Sony bought Bungie for $3.7 billion. The studio’s marquee game, the multiplayer live service shooter Destiny 2 was losing popularity at the time. Its next game Marathon, released earlier this year, has been well-reviewed but had a slow start. Bungie is renowned for making great shooter games, and Destiny fans have mourned the wind-down of Destiny 2. They’ve also expressed bewilderment over reports that Destiny 3 is not, per Bloomberg, immediately in the cards.
Sony files WARN notice for layoffs at Bungie in Bellevue
Sony Interactive Entertainment is reducing the workforce at Bungie, with layoffs affecting a significant number of employees.
Bungie hit with ‘significant’ layoffs after ending Destiny 2
More bad news for the Marathon studio.
Bungie Hit With Widespread Layoffs As ‘Destiny 2’ Ends And ‘Marathon’ Continues
Destiny 2's end has led to inescapable layoffs at Bungie, which are beginning today as the rest of the studio will now work on Marathon.
An Update from PlayStation Studios
Below is an internal email from Hermen Hulst, CEO, Studio Business Group, Sony Interactive Entertainment distributed today to SIE employees. ********************************************************************************** Dear Team, Today I want to share a difficult update regarding Bungie. We have made the decision to reduce Bungie’s workforce, affecting a significant number of employees, including most of the Destiny team and some Marathon team members. There are also reductions across SIE teams that support […]
Bungie Is Laying Off "Most Of" The Destiny 2 Development Team
People who worked on Marathon, as well as some Sony Interactive Entertainment employees, are also getting let go.
Bungie Communications Manager Says Destiny 2 fans Shouldn't Blame Themselves for Game Coming to an End
Destiny 2 fans shouldn't "blame" themselves for Bungie choosing to end support for the game, says the company's comms manager.
Marathon Has A New Problem: Players Have Too Much Loot
Bungie is trying to recalibrate the extraction shooter's economy before it's too late
No, Sony Did Not End ‘Destiny 2’ To Get ‘Revenge’ On Bungie
New reporting says that Sony closed down Destiny 2 as a sort of revenge for Bungie's influence on its live service plans. That is not the case.
Bungie Set To Lose Roughly 400 Staff In Summer Layoffs, It's Claimed
According to claims online, Bungie are set to lose roughly 50% of its staff, which would equate to around 400 employees.
Amid Marathon slump and Destiny 2 player resurgence, former Bungie employee claims studio was "very close" to shutting down before Sony's acquisition
The fight to keep Destiny 2 going has been a long one, according to a former member of staff.
Bungie's Last 'Destiny 2' Update Is a Bittersweet Blast
The 'Monuments of Triumph' update lets 'Destiny 2' go out on its own terms, tie up some threads, and lay crumbs for a hopeful return.
"It was an emergency acquisition": Former Destiny 2 dev says if Sony didn't buy Bungie, the studio would have been "very close to shutting its doors"
Sony's acquisition of Bungie likely saved the Destiny 2 developer from closure, says one former dev.
'The Only Way to Keep Bungie Alive Is to Support Marathon,' Ex-Destiny Community Manager Says
As Destiny 2 fans mourn the game's final update, Bungie's former community manager has blasted players fixated on comparing its player count with fledgling extraction shooter Marathon — and said that the company's current issues began long before its arrival, as well as Sony's acquisition.
How To Unlock Destiny 2’s Two Secret, Final Endings
Destiny 2 may be ending abruptly, but Bungie has put in two secret endings that you'll have to work to see. And they are worth seeing.
Destiny 2 Ending New Content Is "Unthinkable," Warframe Dev Says
Bungie recently announced that it is ending ongoing content releases for Destiny 2 on June 9, with the Sony-owned studio shifting to new projects. The end-of-service announcement was upsetting to many, including Warframe creative director Rebecca Ford. She said on the OnlyFrames podcast that there is “no world where it makes sense.” “Obviously, that news...
The Good And Bad Of ‘Marathon’ Season 2 So Far
Bungie has launched Marathon season 2, which has some cool additions and changes, but other things that break the core loop of the game.
Marathon's Big Free Season 2 Debut Plagued By Server Issues
Bungie's extraction shooter is facing outages on its biggest day since launch
"Guardians make their own fate": As a Destiny 3 petition surges, Destiny 2 dev calls on players to log in for its final content update on June 9
Bungie's Destiny 2 community lead is rallying players to log in for its final update Monument of Triumph.
Destiny 2 Monument of Triumph Adds 25 New Exotic Catalysts: All Known Weapons Listed
Bungie is adding 25 new Exotic catalysts in Destiny 2’s Monument of Triumph update. Here are all known weapons expected to get catalysts in June.
Bungie Reportedly Considered Relaunching Destiny as 'Destiny Infinity' Before Deciding to Pull the Plug on Destiny 2
Bungie's issues with its storied sci-fi shooter, Destiny 2, began around the time of the last summer's Edge of Fate expansion, which reportedly underperformed. The decision to pull the plug was allegedly made "earlier this year" after it decided not to relaunch the franchise as "Destiny Infinity."
Bungie details Marathon Season 2 and the new Sentinel class, with a free-to-play week and special sale planned, too
Ahead of Marathon Season 2's kickoff next week, Bungie has given us an extensive look at all the seasonal content planned, and announced a F2P week.
Destiny 2 Fans Plan Mass Protest to 'Crash the Servers' and Beat Marathon's All-Time Player Record
Destiny 2 fans distraught over Bungie's decision to end support for the franchise are planning to try and "crash the servers" to demonstrate that there's still huge interest in the game.
Bungie's Maligned Shooter Marathon Goes Free-to-Play for a Full Week on PS5
No PS Plus required
A ‘Destiny 2’ Vs. ‘Marathon’ Civil War Is Heating Up, Frustrating Many
Destiny 2 is being shut down while Marathon will live on at Bungie, and that has drastically split the community.
Marathon Developer Bungie Drops Season 2 Cinematic With Big Horror Vibes
Marathon developer Bungie has dropped a sneak peek at what's to come when Marathon's second season launches next month.
20 Questions For Bungie About What Happens After ‘Destiny 2’ Ends
Destiny 2 ending service raises a whole lot of questions about the live aspects of a no-longer-live game.
Marathon Voice Actor Hits Back at Online Trolls and Says 'People Just Want to Hate'
Veteran video game voice actor Elias Toufexis has spoken out about the online "hate" directed at Marathon, following developer Bungie's decision to prioritize the game over Destiny 2.
As an online petition for Destiny 3 gains traction, reports suggest Bungie staff didn't know about the end of Destiny 2 until the public announcement
Following the surprise announcement of support for Destiny 2 ending that shocked even Bungie staff, fans have started an online petition asking for Destiny 3.
Destiny 2 players share their memories and reviews - positive and negative - as Bungie calls time
Bungie fans are battling it out on Destiny 2's Steam page, where unhappy fans are mounting a negative review campaign, and supporters are mitigating it.
Destiny fans petition for Destiny 3, with heartfelt messages
A petition for Destiny 3 has garnered over 48,000 signatures in a very short time, with many explaining why the game means so much to them. "The desire
More Details About The End Of ‘Destiny 2’ From Inside Bungie
With Destiny 2 ending, that raises questions about the future of Bungie, and here's some more information from inside the company.
Destiny 3 Petition is Blowing Up
Following recent development news about Destiny 3 and potential layoffs at Bungie, fans petition Sony to greenlight the threequel.
Bungie reportedly eyeing up "significant" layoffs, no plans for Destiny 3: what happens after Destiny 2's final update in June?
Nearly nine years later, the writing is on the walls for Destiny 2 as Bungie looks ahead to a very uncertain future.
Destiny developer Bungie will reportedly lay off a 'significant number' of people
Bungie is reportedly laying off a significant number of people and has not started work on Destiny 3.
Bungie Plans Layoffs After Ending ‘Destiny 2’ Development
The Sony subsidiary will focus on ‘Marathon’ rather than jumping directly to ‘Destiny 3’
Marathon Lays Out An Ambitious Blueprint To Save Its Future
Bungie outlined new experiments with PVE and progression to widen the player pool
It Seems ‘Destiny 2’ And ‘Marathon’ Cannot Properly Co-Exist At Bungie
It is becoming increasingly clear that it is likely not possible to sustain both Destiny 2 and Marathon within a scaled-down Bungie.
PlayStation records $765m impairment loss from Bungie as operating income falls 41.6% in Q4
Full year operating income for Sony's Games and Network Services rises 12% while net sales remain flat
Sony Backs ‘Marathon’ Even After $765 Million In Bungie Impairment Losses
Sony's recent earnings revealed an enormous $565 million in impairment losses against Bungie, but Sony is still pressing forward with Marathon.
Marathon and Destiny developer Bungie underperformed last year, causing a $765 million impairment loss for PlayStation
Marathon and Destiny 2 continue to be a loss leader for Bungie and PlayStation.
Sony Suffers $765 Million Loss Over Bungie as Marathon Continues to Backslide
Marathon's failure to deliver has had a massive impact on Sony and Bungie, with a $765 million impairment loss being recorded.
Sony Record $560 Million Loss On Bungie Deal As Marathon Stalls
The Bungie acquisition continues to go badly for the PS5 maker
Marathon Has 'Years' of Story Planned Out, Says Bungie, and Players Will 'Help Shape It'
In it for the long run
Bungie Confirms It Has Marathon Story Plans for 'the Next Few Years' But Nothing Is Completely 'Locked in' Yet
It looks like Marathon won’t be left behind anytime soon, as Bungie has confirmed it has plans to evolve its story over at least "the next few years."
Bungie claims it has a Marathon story plan stretching ‘years’ into the future
But Marathon’s future narrative direction will partly be influenced by players…
More Bungie Devs Are Working On ‘Marathon’ Than ‘Destiny 2’ Now
Destiny 2 used to be the priority at Bungie, last we heard, but now that's changed in the wake of Marathon's launch.
Marathon On Sale For The First Time Amid Free-To-Play Debate
Bungie's shooter is going to need fresh players sooner or later
Destiny 2’s Re-Release Of A Botched Iron Banner Is Embarrassing
Destiny 2 brought Iron Banner back, filled with obvious problems that Bungie says will not be fixed for months.
"This is not a game that is about to face some sort of imminent shutdown" - Marathon reportedly had a budget of $200m, and while player numbers are dipping, team morale remains good
Marathon reportedly had a development of over at least $200m, and likely over $250m.
Marathon Reportedly Had a Budget of Over $200 Million — and While the Pressure Is on Bungie to Gain More Players, It Is Not Facing an Imminent, Concord-Style Shutdown
A new report has claimed Marathon’s budget is over $200 million, and while player numbers have fallen significantly since launch, Bungie’s extraction shooter is allegedly not facing an imminent shutdown.
Marathon's Top Players Are Begging Bungie To Do More About Cheaters
The scale of the issue is hard to pin down but the studio says its taking more steps to crack down
Marathon review: Bungie’s extraction shooter is a brutal beauty
Marathon, the first non-Destiny game from Bungie in more than a decade, is equal parts frustration and elation, writes our reviewer.
‘Marathon’ Is Reviewing Better Than ‘Destiny’ On Metacritic, ‘Destiny 2’ On Steam
Marathon is well-liked by players, which has spurred morale among Bungie devs, no matter what other sales conversations may be happening.
New ‘Marathon’ Sales, Playercount Reports Are Close To Reality
New third-party estimates are in for Marathon sales and playercounts, and they are very close to the actual numbers inside Bungie.
Marathon has sold 1.2M copies across Steam, PS5, and Xbox
Alinea Analytics estimates show that Marathon has generated gross revenues of $55M via 1.2M copies sold on Steam, PS5, and Xbox: Looking at the split between Steam, PS5, and Xbox, Steam is clearly the main platform for Marathon, accounting for a little under 70% of the audience (800K copies sold). Meanwhile, PS5 takes about 19% (217K) and Xbox (including console, PC, and cloud) accounts for a bit over 11% or 133K. Marathon is technically a first-party Sony title, so seeing the home console struggle to break 20% of the volume is a notable data point for the ongoing platform-agnostic debate. PlayStation Studios online games will almost certainly continue being multiplatform (despite Sony reportedly pulling back on PC releases). Subscribe for free to get the most accurate games estimates in your inbox twice a week 🫶 Subscribe As for Marathon, the consensus among hardcore players who pushed through the awkward onboarding phase – myself included – is that it’s fantastic. The gunplay, aesthetic, and presentation are among the best in the shooter genre. A great game doesn’t always equal an immediate hit, though, as shown by our estimates. Things are looking lukewarm right now. But this might be one of those marathon-not-a-sprint situations. Had to, didn’t I? Why wasn’t Marathon a hit on the same level as Arc Raiders? One topic that came up in a lot of conversations at GDC this year was why Marathon hasn’t hit the same stratosphere as Arc Raiders. On paper, they’re both extraction shooters, and Marathon has the Bungie pedigree – the house that built the gold standard for gunplay in Halo and Destiny. Marathon’s neon-futuristic aesthetic also distinguishes itself from the gritty realism of Tarkov or the post-apocalyptic hope of ARC Raiders. But vibes can only get you so far for first impressions if the onboarding feels like a brick wall. Marathon is a sweaty PvP-focused experience with a first-time user experience and UI that I can only describe as dreadful. Players are dropped into a complex ecosystem where the UI, though visually striking, is functionally uninformative, forcing users to manually hover over nondescript, identical icons just to identify basic gear or weapon mods. This lack of clarity is compounded by punishing mechanics like a severe heat gauge for movement and a scarcity of vital resources, all without a clear tutorial or a low-stakes mode to learn the ropes. Most people – even top streamers and veteran shooter players – have no idea what’s going on in Marathon at first. Arc is on the complete other end of the spectrum. As we covered here and here, Arc Raiders offers a more collaborative, approachable loop where players often work together toward shared goals. And the objectives are instantly clear. To many players, this contrast only emphasised Marathon’s issues, especially during the testing period. Players understand the Arc Raiders loop within 30 minutes, while Marathon acts as a massive filter, chewing up newcomers and spitting them out before they can experience the depth of Bungie’s signature gunplay. What I’m getting at here is that the poor first-time user experience of Marathon’s Server Slam likely stifled launch sales, while the opposite was true for Arc. Let’s look at the pre-launch copies sold for each game during their respective Server Slams (launch-aligned) : Looking at the trajectory: Arc Raiders saw a massive 80% jump in copies sold during its three-day Server Slam (day -13 to -11). Players jumped in, realised the water was fine, and immediately opened their wallets. Marathon, meanwhile, saw a 49% increase in the four days following its Slam (Day -7 to -3). At the time of each game’s respective launch, Arc Raiders had nearly double the Steam footprint of Marathon – and word of mouth only continued to grow. Bungie could have had more time to fix the onboarding process had the beta happened earlier. But Marathon launched three days after the beta finished. These factors limited the launch sales quite a bit, I reckon. Marathon has found a niche audience, though Despite the friction-heavy start, the data suggests that those who survived Marathon’s onboarding are loving life. We’ve been tracking cross-platform DAUs, and while there’s the expected post-launch leakage, many players are sticking with it. After peaking at 478K total DAUs on its first Saturday, Marathon has settled into a respectable rhythm, holding 345K DAUs as of yesterday and averaging 380K DAUs across the weekend. Steam continues to do the heavy lifting here, consistently accounting for the lion’s share of the daily players. Players have been putting in the hours, too: On Steam, Marathon’s average playtime has climbed to 27.8 hours, significantly outpacing the console averages on PS5 (16.5h) and Xbox (17.3h). Even more telling than the averages: 22% of the Steam audience has surged past the 50-hour mark, and nearly 7% have already logged over 100 hours. Subscribe for free to get the most accurate games estimates in your inbox twice a week 🫶 Subscribe This data suggests that once the Bungie magic clicks, it hooks players deeper than the average extraction shooter. There’s also started to be a shift in the game’s discourse. Marathon launched as one of those games that’s cool to hate. But as Marathon’s 100-hour club grows, we’re seeing conversations around its mechanical merit outweigh the negativity. Several high-profile creators, who were initially vocal critics, have spent the last week coming around on the mechanical depth of the endgame. It’s a subtle but positive signal; the hate train is losing steam, and a new narrative about the game is emerging. Bungie faithfuls unite Another interesting metric in Marathon’s first few weeks is who, exactly, is playing. Bungie leans heavily on its prestige as the “makers of Halo and Destiny,” in its marketing, and that message has clearly hit the mark. On Steam, the gravity (hammer) of Bungie’s previous work is unavoidable. A staggering 78.2% of Marathon players also played Destiny 2. The trend carries across other platforms, with 74.2% of PS5 players and 82.7% of Xbox players also having played Destiny 2. The Halo legacy lives on, it seems. More on that in a bit. While Destiny 2 went free to play, these numbers still represent a high-intent migration of a fanbase that trusts Bungie’s specific brand of kinetic gunplay and cryptic world-building. The Xbox data adds another layer of legacy. About 85.7% of Marathon players on Xbox have played Halo Infinite, while over half of the Steam audience has spent time in Halo Infinite and 36.1% in the Master Chief Collection (a paid collection of the old Bungie-made legacy games). Interestingly, we see a 55.9% overlap with ARC Raiders on Steam. Overlap is even higher there on PlayStation (60.5%) and Xbox (66.5%). And there’s also significant crossover with Helldivers 2 on all platforms, too. Subscribe for free to get the most accurate games estimates in your inbox twice a week 🫶 Subscribe Bungie has found some of its fans with Marathon, and the challenge now is keeping this engaged in a high-stakes PvP environment when they’ve spent the last decade primarily enjoying the power fantasies of PvE. On that note… Go the full 26 miles? Or cut and run? Time for some could’ve, should’ve, would’ve. These things would have improved Marathon’s performance at launch: A more robust onboarding process, perhaps in the form of a short single-player/PvE campaign. We know Bungie fans love this stuff. A traditional arena-based mode akin to Destiny’s Crucible could have been a bridge for the cautious players who’d have been otherwise deterred by the Server Slam. It’s also a great palate cleanser after getting merked. Introducing a dedicated PvE environment would have similarly diversified the conversation and lowered the barrier for the Bungie faithful who found the pure PvP extraction loop too abrasive. PvE is safer than PvP these days. There’s an argument that a thin PvE mode would have just felt like a budget Destiny, potentially hurting the brand more. But given how dire the FTUE is, I think it would have been a net positive. Any kind of tutorialised loop that demystifies the stakes, really. While there is merit in a studio sticking firmly to a singular creative vision, and going all in on the hardcore extraction loop. Less forgiving is the technical reality is that the user interface and first-time user experience (FTUE) were not at a commercial standard for launch. Subscribe for free to get the most accurate games estimates in your inbox twice a week 🫶 Subscribe In a landscape where player time is oversaturated and the most contested currency, a flawed FTUE is a critical failure point. But it’s not all doom and gloom, as Marathon has an incredible, unique gameplay loop, suggesting that financial success is still attainable if Bungie can pivot effectively. Bungie and PlayStation now face a difficult strategic crossroads, though – one within a challenging games market. They could: Double down on Marathon with a long-term Rainbow Six Siege- or No Man’s Sky-style recovery plan, which is something I heard Last Stand Media’s Chris Maldonado mention last week. While this could be a sunk-cost fallacy in action, it could eventually yield the audience the game’s mechanical depth deserves. Shift focus toward the inevitable Destiny 3 or another project, mitigating the escalating opportunity cost and cutting their losses, so to speak. Doing both is an expensive proposition, given the high overhead and burn rate of operating out of Bellevue, Washington. With Sony recently demonstrating a lower threshold for underperforming studios and projects, the margin for error has vanished. Whatever happens, the next six months will determine whether Marathon becomes a cornerstone of Sony’s live-service portfolio or a cautionary tale of vision exceeding accessibility. I’m hoping it’s the former, because Marathon rocks. As always, hit subscribe to get updates on Marathon and other relevant games. Subscribe Want to get your hands on our data for yourself – for free? We’re offering a free trial of our platform for games companies. Send us a message here, or reply to this email, and we’ll set you up. The last word Reply to this email – or reach out here – if you have any feedback for the newsletter – or want to request a game for us to cover. [Alinea Analytics boasts the most accurate PC and console estimates in the business. Game makers use our platform to understand their audience, keep an eye on the competition, monitor sales trends, and spot new opportunities. We equip game studios and financial institutions with accurate data and the confidence to make smarter, data-driven decisions. Want to talk about all things games market data? We’d love to chat!]
Bungie Reveals All Details of Marathon's First Raid, Cryo Archive; Goes Live on March 20 and Weekends Only
Here's everything you need to know about Marathon's Cryo Archive raid that goes live on March 20, which will only be available on weekends.
Marathon Players Are About To Solve Its Weeks-Long ARG
Alternate reality games are kind of Bungie's thing.
Destiny 2 Guardian Games 2026 Leaked With New Armor, Weapons, Schedule, and Rushdown
A new Destiny 2 leak has revealed Guardian Games 2026 armor ornaments, event dates, Rushdown, and possible weapons ahead of Bungie’s official reveal.
‘ARC Raiders’ Head Praises ‘Unusual’ Marathon Turnaround
ARC Raiders and Marathon may be genre rivals, but the boss of Embark has kind words for Bungie and their turnaround sparked by implementing feedback quickly.
One of Marathon's best tricks? It dodges the "Blorko" problem that doomed Concord and Highguard
To many shooters - from Concord to Highguard - have fallen into the trap of needing you to care about unfamiliar characters. Bungie's Marathon dodges it deftly.
‘Marathon’ Reveals First Buffs, Addresses Bad Microtransactions
Bungie is about to patch Marathon and buff some things, and it's also changing up some microtransactions to be less annoying.
Bungie Responds Quickly to Marathon Microtransactions Backlash, First Patch Will Make the Game Slightly Easier
Bungie has revealed plans to change Marathon in some key ways just a few days after launch, outlining early patch notes for an update due out next week.