Marathon 2025 - Bungie's new AAAA Extraction shooter

[Jarch6]

I still follow the discussion from time to time, but I’ve moved on to talk about the game elsewhere. This place is great if you just want to circle jerk the lower player count and pat yourself on the back with a bunch of Destiny and Single player gamers. There just isn't anything else to say here that's been already said a thousand times.

I’ll always appreciate a contrarian , I’ve stepped into that role at times on this site myself. I’m afraid in this case the #’s portend this shit shutting the fuck down sooner rather than later thoughever

You guys gotta be nicer to this dude, if it keeps going he'll just make a Marathon 2026 Appreciation thread and stop coming here.

Reminds me of when guntguarders are mad a subreddit allows any criticism of the product so they have to create a “low-sodium” splinter (wherein rather than complaining about the product they will complain infinitely more about anyone complaining about the product).

 

[BoomerSperg1922]

I’ll always appreciate a contrarian , I’ve stepped into that role at times on this site myself. I’m afraid in this case the #’s portend this shit shutting the fuck down sooner rather than later thoughever


Reminds me of when guntguarders are mad a subreddit allows any criticism of the product so they have to create a “low-sodium” splinter (wherein rather than complaining about the product they will complain infinitely more about anyone complaining about the product).

People are taking it too personally for a game they haven't even played. At least I have the excuse of being an oldfag mad they're wearing my old fps series like a skinsuit!!!!

Glad some people are having fun but Bungie has to die, and it is in fact personal.

 

[Zenos Yae Viator]

People are taking it too personally for a game they haven't even played. At least I have the excuse of being an oldfag mad they're wearing my old fps series like a skinsuit!!!!

Glad some people are having fun but Bungie has to die, and it is in fact personal.

This, every ounce of Bungie suffering is not just good, its paramount.

 

[Professor Donger]

 

[Kane Lives]

Isn't Deadlock a MOBA and it is quite popular? Btw pretty sure that Riot games is already making an own Deadlock copy

Given that Marathon is not successful on consoles, no, they are not gonna to cannibalize each other

Deadlock is a weird hybrid. People describing it as taking (the worst) aspects of TF2 and DOTA isn't that far off.

 

[King Dead]

View attachment 8876331

>be bungo
>want to incentivize players to be more cooperative
>give an item that can revive downed runners
>give it to literally every Rook player
>players instead go and kill others, rez them, and then kill them again for double the XP
>somehow they didn't foresee this possibility

Hilarious.

ETA: It's baffling that they didn't even consider this as a possibility when, again, they have Destiny to look at as an example. In PVP modes where you can revive a teammate, the last thing you want to do is rez them if you're still being targeted. Can't tell you how many times I've seen someone get rezzed before immediately getting domed by a sniper because they can't move right away, or even just coordinated fire knocking them out a second time. This system is even worse because the enemy is literally right on top of them reviving them, and I'm assuming that reviving works in a similar fashion where there's a delay before you can control your character again. So you get brought back and have just long enough to see the face of your killer before they blow your brains out a second time. Wonderful.

 

[Oliver Onions]

Pretty sure Arc Raiders already made their money and then some, they don't have the same concerns Bungie does lol

The ancient wisdom of setting your budget proportionate to the size of the niche you're targeting, sadly forgotten by almost all AAAs who spend hundreds of millions on remakes or new entries in series that sold a couple million at best then being shocked when their 15 million unit sales targets aren't hit (AKA the Dead Space 3 gambit).

 

[evilsponge]

>be bungo
>want to incentivize players to be more cooperative
>give an item that can revive downed runners
>give it to literally every Rook player
>players instead go and kill others, rez them, and then kill them again for double the XP
>somehow they didn't foresee this possibility

Hilarious.

Erm ackshully, the mercy kit kefuffle was an 8D chess dunk on Arc Diapers! (yes I have seen this argument in the Marathon discord)

 

[Zenos Yae Viator]

The ancient wisdom of setting your budget proportionate to the size of the niche you're targeting, sadly forgotten by almost all AAAs who spend hundreds of millions on remakes or new entries in series that sold a couple million at best then being shocked when their 15 million unit sales targets aren't hit (AKA the Dead Space 3 gambit).

but how can we pay the 120 HR Dept employees?

 

[PB & Banana Sandwich]

Why would they even allow you to revive enemies anyway? The trolling potential is obvious. Even if they remove the XP gain players will still do it. It's crazy how a company that primarily makes online multiplayer games would add something like this.

 

[Professor Donger]

Why would they even allow you to revive enemies anyway? The trolling potential is obvious. Even if they remove the XP gain players will still do it. It's crazy how a company that primarily makes online multiplayer games would add something like this.

I think they added it because they saw that Arc Raiders had the option and that the hugbox players were bitching about how hostile players are in Marathon, so they thought "We can fix it!"

 

[30+GameOvers]

Why would they even allow you to revive enemies anyway? The trolling potential is obvious. Even if they remove the XP gain players will still do it. It's crazy how a company that primarily makes online multiplayer games would add something like this.

Almost as if these talentless retards who make these games never played a shooter in their lives, huh?

 

[Zenos Yae Viator]

I think they added it because they saw that Arc Raiders had the option and that the hugbox players were bitching about how hostile players are in Marathon, so they thought "We can fix it!"

well as a PVP enthusiast even in ARC, they are right, if people are 100% hostile, it cuts out the tension, in ARC you never know if that guy is friend.. or foe, or maybe he's friendly but becomes foe later, or vice versa.

in Marathon they are absolutely 100% Foe, and will use VOIP just to shit talk, its just death match, and thus its no longer actually an extraction shooter in spirit, its a big deathmatch map with looting.

 

[Professor Donger]

well as a PVP enthusiast even in ARC, they are right, if people are 100% hostile, it cuts out the tension, in ARC you never know if that guy is friend.. or foe, or maybe he's friendly but becomes foe later, or vice versa.

in Marathon they are absolutely 100% Foe, and will use VOIP just to shit talk, its just death match, and thus its no longer actually an extraction shooter in spirit, its a big deathmatch map with looting.

I do agree with others that Marathon would have been better off as a return to Bungie's old form where it's a story driven FPS game like the Halo Trilogy or OG Marathon, and then you add proper pvp multiplayer in as something extra. I think that would have been a lot better.

 

[namelesstacotruck]

I do agree with others that Marathon would have been better off as a return to Bungie's old form where it's a story driven FPS game like the Halo Trilogy or OG Marathon, and then you add proper pvp multiplayer in as something extra. I think that would have been a lot better.

How do you get hundreds of millions of development dollars and a billion + dollar investment deal doing that?

That strategy only works if its like a good product that launches at the right time and place. The other strategy means you just have to have a potentially good product.

Marathon as a game has failed. Marathon as a vehicle to get development and investment dollars and distribute wealth to a few people (arguably even line level devs at Bungie who got to enjoy 6 figure salaries for several years) was a smash success.

 

[Disc]

>be bungo
>want to incentivize players to be more cooperative
>give an item that can revive downed runners
>give it to literally every Rook player
>players instead go and kill others, rez them, and then kill them again for double the XP
>somehow they didn't foresee this possibility

Hilarious.

ETA: It's baffling that they didn't even consider this as a possibility when, again, they have Destiny to look at as an example. In PVP modes where you can revive a teammate, the last thing you want to do is rez them if you're still being targeted. Can't tell you how many times I've seen someone get rezzed before immediately getting domed by a sniper because they can't move right away, or even just coordinated fire knocking them out a second time. This system is even worse because the enemy is literally right on top of them reviving them, and I'm assuming that reviving works in a similar fashion where there's a delay before you can control your character again. So you get brought back and have just long enough to see the face of your killer before they blow your brains out a second time. Wonderful.

i think it doesn't help matters that, compared to Arc Raiders which discouraged baseline pvp from the start, this is being introduced when the playerbase has already been reduced to the greasiest third of it's original install base. The players who might have used this feature in it's intended way left weeks ago. Now all that's left are those who'll double-tap you just for the lols, let alone the exp (and here's another glass to all those people who try to convince me that Extraction shooters are about fair play and tactics rather than griefing people with whatever advantage you can get.)

 

[Oliver Onions]

the playerbase has already been reduced to the greasiest third of it's original install base

If they were smart they'd coincide this new mode with making the game free for a week to give casuals a chance to try it out and get used to the game in general. If they drop this behind the current paywall I don't expect the needle to move at all.

 

[StacticShock]

If they were smart they'd coincide this new mode with making the game free for a week to give casuals a chance to try it out and get used to the game in general.

it wouldn't help though since the entire grindset is already set in stone, they should have done that shit way earlier, literally on their server slammajamma thing.
not mentioning how the game encourages you to be hostile to others... there's that too.

 

[Oliver Onions]

it wouldn't help though since the entire grindset is already set in stone, they should have done that shit way earlier,

You're probably right, I'm just saying if they want to have any chance of this turning things round for the game it's their best shot, because like Disc said all that's left currently are the sweats.

I'd be much more willing to try something I'm sure I'll still hate for free than spend 40 bucks to roll the dice.

 

[Steven Chapman]

been awhile since I’ve been in the thread. The game is so boring and dead that watching its demise isn’t even fun anymore. I checked this morning (7am for me on MST, so 10am EST) and it’s at 13k with a peak of 24k. Oof. Sony’s earnings call is in May, the eighth specifically, big oof. Add onto all the other bad shit happening surrounding Bungie, ANOTHER D2 fuck up has hit the building, currently Iron Banner is having drop rate issues, transmog issues, the rewards currently suck, and Bungie’s response was “tough shit, wait till June.”

I think it’s over, I think we’re gonna see a lot of people leave or be fired and Sony will either full absorb, shut down, or completely overhaul Bungie into whatever they see fit.