Bungie has shown the first gameplay of their new shooter Marathon and the community is divided. However, even players who like what they see are facing a problem.
How is Marathon currently being discussed? Opinions are currently widely varied. Some cannot relate to the art style and character design at all, while others are put off by the genre, as Marathon will be an Extraction Shooter.
On MeinMMO, we have examined the presentation of Marathon more closely and lively discussions also took place in our comments. Here are some reactions from our readers:
- EsmaraldV speaks of a successful debut: “[…] The art style is so well done that I find it simply magnificent – I cannot understand the criticism in any way. I personally find very few points of criticism graphically as well. The game/gunplay looks stable, but of course, it needs to be tested. The setting, the mysterious story/storytelling, the characters….. WOW! […]”
- 5kullCOD sees it quite differently: “It doesn’t look cool. I find it way too colorful, overloaded, and colors like yellow and green stand out extremely. There is something written everywhere, even if it’s just a huge number. The design, from my perspective, is garbage. […]”
- Direwolf is somewhere in between: “[…] I think the art style is really awesome. Unfortunately, as an Extraction Shooter, it’s not for me. I don’t understand the hype around this genre. […]”
However, Bungie currently has a tough standing in the community. Our editor-in-chief Schuhmann has followed the development of Destiny for years and says: “Bungie could release the best game in the world right now, and the comments would still be negative. I think everyone understands how it has been recently.”
Regardless of the actual content, Marathon has another problem: the release date. Because Marathon intends to release on September 23, 2025 – alongside the highly anticipated loot shooter Borderlands 4.
Users believe: Bold strategy from Bungie
What is the problem? Due to the simultaneous release, Marathon will be in direct competition with Borderlands 4 – and as a loot shooter focused on PvE, the title is actually significantly more attractive for fans of Destiny 2.
Additionally, Marathon – like Destiny 2 – will not be Free2Play at launch. However, many players will probably only buy one of the two games at launch.
The developer EpicNNG states on X:
It’s such a shame that Bungie is dropping Marathon on the same day as Borderlands 4. The game looks good, but there’s a 0% chance I’ll play it before BL4. Sorry Bungie.
Another user says: “40 $ – 70 $… On the same day as Borderlands 4… In the same season as GTA 6 / rumored to be 100 $ – 120 $) and the 450 $ – 600 $ Switch 2… with their 80-dollar games… In a market where it is the norm for pure PvP games to be F2P… Bold strategy, Bungie, we’ll see how that works out.” (via X)
Why are they doing this? As Destiny expert Paul Tassi writes, Bungie may have actually thought something through regarding the choice of release date. Because it is generally assumed that the release of GTA 6 in the fall of 2025 will overshadow everything else – even the biggest publishers want to avoid the gaming giant.
Since both Borderlands 4 and GTA 6 belong to Take-Two, it can be assumed that the two games are scheduled in such a way that they do not interfere with each other. Bungie may have positioned itself against Borderlands to avoid conflicts with GTA 6. However, it is probably clear to everyone that this is also not ideal. Expert Tassi summarizes on X: “No matter how you slice it, it’s wrong.”
Some players are already predicting a similar fate for Marathon as Concord, probably the most painful gaming flop of 2024. Our editor-in-chief Schuhmann analyzed the factors leading to the failure of the Sony shooter here for you: Why did Concord fail so badly on Steam and PS5, and did Sony waste 250 million $ on a woke catastrophe?
