According to multiple sources, Bungie is considering a premium, pay-to-play model for Marathon, priced at $40. This has raised a few questions, considering Sony’s past attempt with Concord, the live-service hero-shooter that failed to gain traction and was shut down weeks after its release.
Given Concord’s failure and the saturated free-to-play shooter genre, has Sony learned anything from its past mistake?
Much like the ill-fated Concord, Marathon was originally intended as a sci-fi shooter that would bring something fresh to the genre. However, changes have been made towards an extraction-shooter model. Now, the game will have a roster of different heroes with their own perks and abilities, turning them into classes. This is partially due to a new Director, Joe Ziegler, who took over Bungie’s project and implemented these changes.
Nevertheless, despite the new direction, Marathon is still heading towards an overly saturated genre. With games such as Escape from Tarkov, Hunt: Showdown, and Gray Zone Warfare leading the way, is there room for another pay-to-play premium hero shooter? To add insult to injury, Marathon has a steep uphill battle with just two confirmed maps.
The lack of content certainly won’t help. The prospect of a $40 price tag for Marathon is sure to raise eyebrows. For instance, Bungie’s flagship, Destiny 2, first launched as a pay-to-play game in 2017 before being turned into a game-as-a-service model in 2019 under the New Light title. Will Marathon face the same destiny? How long before it becomes free to play or shut down completely?
Contrary to Destiny 2 and other relatively successful shooters out there, Sony’s Concord failed miserably. There are multiple reasons behind it, and the premium model was just one of them. However, the free beta test numbers of just 2,300 players painted a gloomy picture of how lacking that game was from the beginning.
Marathon has already had its test play, which attracted upwards of 10,000 players. Further, content creators and beta testers have given Marathon generally positive reviews.
Moreover, Escape from Tarkov features a controversial $250 pay-to-win DLC. Marathon can fill in the gap with balanced gameplay and customization-only microtransactions.
This year’s Sony success story, Helldivers 2, priced the same at launch. The game is another proof that a premium model can be a success – when the multiplayer shooter is engaging enough.
While Bungie has suffered restructuring this year with 200+ people laid off, work on Marathon and its release won’t affect Destiny 2 as the studio continues to update the game.
Taking just the name of Bungie’s ‘90s hero-shooter IP made for the Apple Macintosh, the new, modern iteration isn’t a sequel or a remake. It was first announced in 2023 and will be released sometime in 2025.
Marathon has the potential to be Sony’s redemption arc if Bungie executes it correctly. While YouTubers and other streamers aren’t ideal representations of a casual gamer audience willing to churn out money for a multiplayer shooter in the vast sea of free-to-play games, the potential behind the title is undeniable.