Bungie's Marathon will not be free-to-play, and that might be a mistake

Bungie officially revealed the gameplay for its brand-new extraction shooter, Marathon, on April 12, 2025. The creators of Halo and Destiny have put in a lot of effort to design this modern retro-style sci-fi shooter title, and in all honesty, it definitely has a lot of potential if the developers play their cards right.

Promising crossplay and cross-save features, Marathon could be a big hit within the gaming community. However, the publisher might have made a terrible mistake with pricing the game.

This article explores the implications that Bungie might face for not making Marathon a free-to-play game. Read below to know more.

Note: Parts of this article are subjective and feature the author's opinion.

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How much will Bungie's Marathon cost?

The official pricing model for Marathon has not been released by Bungie. The developers have, however, confirmed that this extraction shooter will be a premium title and could cost between $40 and $70. In our opinion, not opting for a free-to-play model might cost Bungie a pretty penny, and we have our reasons for this.

Halo and Destiny have been phenomenal releases by the studio. Marathon, from the looks of it, also seems quite promising, although there are certain factors that we believe are not being considered by the devs. In an already saturated market, this game simply feels like a hybrid of a hero-shooter, battle-royale, and an extraction-shooter blended into one.

Bungie is trying to enter the toughest and one of the most competitive segments of the gaming market, which is filled with fan-favorite titles like Marvel Rivals, Warzone, Apex Legends, Fortnite, and even Delta Force, all of which incorporate a free-to-play (F2P) model.

If you've been up-to-date with the latest news, Sony's Concord serves as the perfect example of why a paid model simply is not sustainable upon launch. As a developer, if you're planning to push into such a saturated market with content that already exists in F2P games, are you sure players will buy into it?

Furthermore, knowing Bungie, this game will feature many micro-transactions similar to what we have seen with Destiny. If the game costs between $40 and $70, and we factor in even more transactions in the name of a Battle Pass and other cosmetics, would it be fair for players to even try the game out?

We are rooting for Bungie to make an impact in this space. If anything, most players want the company to release something revolutionary to bring back the joy of tactical FPS gameplay.

However, if it sticks with Marathon being a 'premium' title, we believe the developers should add much more content and make several adjustments that make players believe that it's worth investing their hard-earned money into.

Check out: Fans fear for Bungie's latest title before its release

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