Bungie Admits Marathon Was Too Hard, Reveals Big Changes

Bungie says Marathon flopped at launch because it was too difficult for most players. The studio is now making big changes, including PvE modes and a team deathmatch mode.

Did you try Marathon and bounce off hard? You're not alone. Bungie has finally admitted that its extraction shooter was just too tough for most players to stick with.

Marathon was designed as an ultra-hardcore PvPvE experience where death meant losing everything—not just the loot you grabbed, but all the gear you brought in. And since dying was easy, especially in PvP, it felt brutally punishing. Players warned Bungie about this even before launch. At the time, the studio called the game a "dangerous climb" and said players should play the long game, slowly improving stats and unlocking better items through contracts and faction upgrades.

But that didn't work. Many players were immediately put off by the constant failure they faced just trying to learn the ropes. Then came Cryo Archive, a brutally difficult endgame raid released in April, which only reinforced the idea that Marathon was built for the most hardcore shooter fans. Even former pro Counter-Strike player Shroud said Cryo Archive was "insane" and "the most elaborate extraction shooter map I've ever seen," but worried it was too complex and grindy for casual players. "Is your 9-5 grandma and grandpa going to be able to do it? I don't know," he said.

Now, as part of Bungie's plan to save the game, developers are opening up about what went wrong. "Launch didn't go the way we wanted it to," said senior design lead Kevin Yanes in a new video. "We made a game that was overly difficult for a lot of folks. And that constant loop of failure I don't think spoke to as many people as we hoped. While death is the first step for many players, death was the only step." Game director Del Chafe III added that the game was "pretty niche" and "for sweaty people who like PvP." Yanes admitted, "We all thought we were gonna bring extractions to the masses, and we didn't."

So what's next? Bungie is making Marathon more accessible. The plan includes dedicated PvE modes, a team deathmatch mode, and expanding Perimeter—the tutorial level—to be closer in scope to other full zones. The goal is to reduce friction for new players and let them ease into the traditional extraction mode that's proven so divisive.

These changes were announced alongside a surprise return to Destiny 2. Bungie will unvault content, though it's not returning to full live service support. The studio has said it has more Destiny in its future, but what that looks like remains unclear. Last week, Bungie denied a rumor that it planned to merge the Destiny and Marathon IPs. Based on this week's news, Marathon will soldier on, at least into 2027. The specter of Sony's commitment looms, but for now, fans are watching closely. On Steam, Marathon's 24-hour peak was just 3,285, down from an all-time peak of 88,337 at launch in March.

What do you think—can Bungie turn Marathon around with these changes? Will you be giving it another shot?