"Launch didn't go how we wanted it to. We all built a game that we believed would resonate, but I think when you're so close to something, it's hard to see the bigger picture objectively. So we made a game that was overly difficult for a lot of folks.
"That constant loop of failure didn't speak to as many people was we hoped it would. While death is the first step, for many players, death was the only step.
"We all thought we were gonna bring extraction to the masses, and we didn't. We built very much an extraction shooter as you've ever seen one."
"It's a really solid PvPvE experience, but that's not what a Bungie game is. A Bungie game needs to be more than that. We need more modes. We need a PvE mode. We need a PvP mode.
"There's components of the Bungie DNA, and [Marathon] has a lot of them missing. It's our job over the next year to weave those strands back in to create a holistic player experience that people recognize as being truly Bungie."
A few illustrative quotes from the "Future of Marathon Part 1" video that Bungie published today. The team (recently reduced by Sony layoffs) were candid in their plans to transform Marathon from purely an extraction shooter to something more Destiny-shaped: Easier onboarding, dedicated PvE options, a wider variety of PvP (Including a team deathmatch mode), and a greater emphasis on story. This upcoming vision for Marathon sounds less hardcore and, ideally, more broad in its appeal.
The two major milestones for Marathon's future will be the December Symbiosis update and a March 2027 update. Here's what Bungie's laid out for those:
The next 6 months of Marathon
- December: Symbiosis introduces Marathon’s first permanent PvE experience, an expanded Perimeter, a new shell, improved onboarding, and a social space.
- March: These pieces come together through connected PvE, PvP, and PvEvP experiences, deeper progression, a refactored Cradle, more narrative, new enemies, and an entirely new zone.
