Marathon – I don’t get it nor does Bungie?

Marathon’s core problem is its concept and execution.

To put it bluntly, I don’t think this game should exist. Bungie clearly doesn’t understand the extraction shooter genre. It tries to address features of the core concept as if they were bugs. I think the studio needs to expand its audience and find a fresh direction. Instead, it feels like a foolish roll of the dice. I tried to be nice about it before, but now it’s time to take the gloves off. I’m increasingly worried the studio is heading towards further trouble.

This feels like a cheap cash-in on the extraction shooter trend. Somebody high up saw the genre and thought, “Why not make that?” But games take years to develop, and this already feels outdated. With the battle royale genre having reached its peak and now declining, the gaming industry is desperately trying to recreate those same highs—but I don’t think the conditions can be repeated. Battle royale had been brewing in the background for years before Fortnite stumbled upon it by accident. Fortnite was never intended to be a battle royale game; Epic changed focus after experimenting.

The biggest problem here is a lack of creativity, compounded by the high costs and risks of making video games. Games take years and massive amounts of money to produce. I believe budgets need to be scaled back, and we need fewer big-budget titles. Talented studios have been shut down, and many skilled developers have been fired or forced out. Over the past decade, the gaming industry has shifted towards live service games, with the most profitable titles being older ones supported by years of content. If you’re wondering why every studio seems determined to drain your wallet, this is why. Another downside is that many games are being shut down, lost forever due to server closures.

It’s pretty obvious that Bungie needs to find a new audience. Destiny’s player base is declining, and the studio needs a new game to survive. Destiny was successful despite its flaws—until it ruined its own reputation. For me, the biggest issue is poor management, which has led to significant layoffs. Executives overpromised that growth from the past few years could be sustained. The people who made those promises should be held accountable—not the talented artists or creatives at the bottom. The lack of creative direction and fundamental knowledge of how to make video games is glaring. Whoever is in charge needs to be replaced. Things at the studio aren’t working out, and Sony should have stepped in long ago to address the issues. It’s clear that Bungie’s management is failing and must be replaced.

Marathon has even been found to have used stolen art from a former employee. Safe to say, things don’t look good. The response to the game has been mixed, and with its release only four months away, I doubt a delay will make much difference. The core concept and gameplay loop are fundamentally flawed. The developers are trying to “fix” what makes the genre compelling. Extraction shooters thrive on their high-risk, high-reward nature—you loot, but risk losing everything in the next run. Destiny, on the other hand, lets players keep their loot indefinitely. Both games attract vastly different audiences with distinct expectations.

I don’t think moving to a new audience is a bad idea—it’s a risky move, but one the studio needs to take. The reason we’re here is that Bungie burned its goodwill with its existing audience. They seem to be abandoning ship rather than maintaining Destiny‘s player base. Few studios have successfully transitioned in this way. What I would have done is simpler: assemble a team of creatives, develop a proof of concept, and release a working demo to gauge player interest. But the core issue here is management—it needs to be replaced, and project management requires serious improvement.

It’s quite ridiculous that a live service game with far more employees than, say, a small Canadian studio, produces significantly less content on a yearly basis compared to Warframe.

It’s no surprise that game development is incredibly complex. Games take years to produce, costing millions, and requiring hundreds of employees—ranging from part-time freelancers to full-time staff—often working under poor conditions.
Crunch culture, characterised by long hours and inadequate pay, stems from poor project management, with staff pushing to get a game out the door. Sadly, many of these employees are fired once the game is released. Some studios offer a share of the final revenue, but for many developers, job security remains uncertain.

So, what would I have done for Marathon? Honestly, a single-player title at a reduced price from the industry standard of £90. A spin-off based on the IP would have made more sense. As for Destiny, its third instalment should adopt a live service model from the start, free-to-play with a clear roadmap. What works should continue, and what doesn’t should be rapidly updated and fixed. Bungie should follow the standards set by other successful live service titles. This would require a complete shift in how they engage with the community. The studio needs to take a more grounded approach. Destiny 3: Legends is the working title for what I envision—a game built from the ground up, offering veteran players a meaningful head start.

Looking ahead, I see Sony taking over the studio’s leadership and purging large sections of it. Perhaps Bungie is still indie at heart, but I can’t see its current leadership surviving. Nor can I see Sony allowing its billion-dollar investment—intended for staff retention—to go to waste. Given the layoffs of core co-founders and major creatives behind Halo, it’s clear that money hasn’t been used wisely.

Marathon reminds me of a big-budget movie that has been delayed and gone over budget—years in production, yet the final product is nothing like the original pitch. Overpromised, overhyped, and backed by flashy marketing, but at its core, it’s merely okay at best. It’s relying on past success yet failing to do anything new or different.

Much of the past talent has long moved on. Their names remain in the credits, but only for work that was ultimately cut. My concern is that, without a flashy marketing budget and aggressive advertising campaign, the game will fail. It won’t disappear overnight, but I see it slowly drifting into irrelevance—much like the original Marathon.

Bungie is a husk of the studio it once was. The creators of Halo are long gone, and now the company is led by a former Microsoft executive who has no real understanding of how to make video games—only how to maximise profits.