Bungie Admits Marathon Underperformed, Promises Major Evolution

Bungie has admitted that Marathon, its extraction shooter, did not reach as many players as the studio had hoped. In a blog post about the game’s future, the studio said the experience needs to evolve to hold on to its audience, and it outlined a shift away from seasons toward a broader survival-focused game, starting with a major update in December.

How Marathon has performed

Marathon launched earlier this year on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and PC as Bungie’s first new game since Destiny 2 and its first major release since Sony acquired the studio in 2022. The game received a strong critical reception, but Bungie now acknowledges it fell short of its player targets.

Public numbers point the same way. Sony reported strong user retention for the game in July, yet Steam’s 24-hour concurrent player peak was around 2,300 in mid-September, a small figure for a flagship live-service shooter. The game has also seen leadership change, with game director Joe Ziegler leaving Bungie in July.

Moving beyond extraction

Bungie is not shutting Marathon down, but it is changing how the game is built and updated. The studio is dropping the seasonal content model, saying this gives it more flexibility to build, test and improve features before release. In its place, the team wants to evolve Marathon into a “more alien and dynamic survival experience.”

The first big step is the Symbiosis update, now scheduled for December 8. It was originally planned for September 22. Symbiosis is set to add:

A permanent PvE mode; a social gathering space; an experimental Team Deathmatch mode; improved onboarding for new players; and a round of quality-of-life and balance changes.

Bungie says it is not abandoning the game’s roots. It describes an “all of the above” approach, with meaningful content for players who want cooperative PvE, competitive PvP and the high-tension PvPvE extraction matches that defined the game at launch.

Where Marathon fits at Bungie

Bungie calls Destiny “foundational” to its future. Marathon is described as important to the studio’s direction but was never meant to replace Destiny. The same week, Bungie reversed its plan to wind down Destiny 2 and confirmed more Destiny content is coming, a sign that the studio is putting weight back behind its main franchise.

Why it matters

For players, the changes could make Marathon easier to get into. A permanent PvE mode and better onboarding lower the barrier for newcomers who found extraction matches punishing, while Team Deathmatch offers shorter sessions. Existing players should expect a different pace of updates without fixed seasons.

For Bungie and Sony, Marathon’s performance matters beyond one game. Sony has bet heavily on live-service titles, and Bungie has been through layoffs and restructuring. How Symbiosis lands in December will be an important signal of whether Marathon can find a lasting audience.