Bungie’s upcoming extraction shooter, Marathon, reportedly will cost $40 and the game is too far along in development to pivot to a free-to-play model.
According to Forbes, Helldivers 2’s $40 price point and monumental success cemented the premium-cost idea for Marathon. However, despite Concord’s $40 price tag, its failure reportedly didn’t deter Sony from doing the same for Marathon. Barring any sort of catastrophe, Marathon won’t be launching with a free-to-play model. The game will also reportedly have a standard cosmetic and battle-pass system in addition to the upfront $40 cost.
There will also reportedly be no substantial updates about Marathon until Spring 2025, although game director Joe Ziegler might reveal some information to clear up leaks and rumors, such as a potential class or hero system. When Ziegler replaced former director Christopher Barrett, the hero concept reportedly was brought more to the forefront. The heroes are reportedly similar to Apex Legends’ characters, but with more customization. This includes giving heroes personalities with unique abilities like double jump, fast revive, and invisibility.
Marathon will reportedly still have puzzles and secrets but they’ve been scaled down, as they aren’t coming together as well in practice as originally attended. The game will also reportedly lean more heavily into the initially revealed art direction due to positive reception.
It looks like a 2025 release is still in the cards despite the recent Bungie layoffs. However, morale is reportedly dwindling due to current employees leaving and not being able to talk more about the game.
