Marathon Bungie Update

Marathon's viability as a live service product is once again under scrutiny, as Bungie has revealed its plans to effectively reduce the frequency at which it'll update the game.

The developer delivered the news in a blog post, which also confirms that the shooter's next big update has been delayed. Said update was meant to drop next week, on the 22nd September, but now, the new content will arrive on the 8th December.

"The content originally planned for September will now arrive as part of our Symbiosis update on December 8. Alongside the new Runner shell, permanent PvE experience, and refreshed Perimeter zone, the update will also include a social space/firing range, an experimental TDM mode, and improvements to new player onboarding," the studio writes.

Many have speculated that Marathon's dedicated PvE mode could be crucial to its continued survival — and so it being pushed back several months feels like a bit of a blow.

Still, there will be a smaller patch dropping in the meantime: "We’ll release a smaller, focused update on October 6 that resets progression and the in-game economy, refreshes rewards, and improves the live game."

The broader context here is that Bungie wants to rework its development schedule. The team states that the goal is to deliver bigger, more impactful updates going forward, and that means scrapping the game's seasonal schedule.

"We’re also moving away from a strict seasonal schedule. Instead of tying major updates to fixed seasonal deadlines, we’re giving the team more flexibility to build, test, and improve features before they are released," it reveals.

"Since launch, you’ve told us Marathon needs more depth, more variety, stronger progression, and better reasons to keep playing over the long term. We agree. Addressing that feedback requires us to change both what we’re building and how we deliver it."

The thing is, we've seen similar changes in direction with live service offerings before — and they're rarely a good sign. 2XKO is probably the most recent example.

It's no secret that Marathon has struggled, relatively speaking. Yes, it has a very dedicated, hardcore player base, but for how much it cost, the time it took to develop, and the resources that it requires to maintain, Bungie needs the game to step up and attract a wider audience.

As such, this feels like a roll of the dice; a lot will be riding on that big December update, and at this point, Sony is likely demanding improvements.

Do you think Marathon can still grow? Are you waiting on the next update? Extract yourself in the comments section below.

[source bungie.net]