Bungie is opening the gates to Marathon next week and letting players jump in on the action, free of cost. As part of Marathon Season 2's launch, the full game will be getting a free trial from June 2nd to June 9th on Xbox Series X|S, PS5, and PC. All of the progress you make during this time will carry over to the full game, so it's a great way to try before you buy. It's a clear move from Bungie to try to win over players, as Marathon has had soft sales and underwhelming player counts for a new game.
Marathon Season 2 also plans to add more PVE content to the game as a way to lure in more players who are turned off by core modes in the game. The extraction shooter genre has had some massive wins, like Arc Raiders, but the premise can be daunting for some, pushing away more casual shooter fans. As always, Bungie has incorporated strong gunplay into Marathon, but some wish it were in a more accessible game. It seems like Bungie is trying to cater to those would-be players with upcoming content.
Despite sales issues, Marathon has received pretty solid reviews. We gave the game a 9/10, noting: "Marathon is a ruthless and unforgiving extraction shooter that’s worth every ounce of hell it puts you through." It's at least a promising sign that Marathon has strong fundamentals, because it's all Bungie will have for the foreseeable future. Destiny 2 is ending live-service support in June, and the studio will be turning all of its attention to Marathon while figuring out what's next.
Reports indicate that Bungie is not actively working on Destiny 3, nor does it have any other titles in production. Bungie is also expected to suffer "significant" layoffs in the coming weeks and months, likely tied to the fact that the studio has more people than it needs with Destiny 2 winding down. Some are protesting against Marathon following the Destiny 2 news, but it remains to be seen if that will have any kind of meaningful impact.
Either way, it'll be interseting to see if Bungie can win people over with Marathon. If not, it may pose major danger for the beloved shooter studio. Sony is likely going to be picky about any future projects that Bungie pitches, given the high costs associated with developing games at the studio's normal scale. We also likely won't see whatever Bungie's next game is until the 2030s, so Marathon needs to become sustainable for the foreseeable future.
Cade Onder is a freelancer for IGN's news team. He covers all things entertainment, including gaming, film, and more. You can find him on Twitter @Cade_Onder.
