Marathon Game Director Explains Why The Game Isn’t Free-To-Play

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Many are caught off guard that the marathon isn’t being released as a free-to-play game. However, for the game director Joe Ziegler, the cost is considered reasonable since he believes the game offers a strong foundation of content at launch and has plans for frequent updates down the line.

In an interview with the Friends Per Second podcast, Ziegler – who joined the Marathon team in 2022 and later became the project’s game director around June 2023 after collaborating with Riot Games on Valorant – was questioned about his thoughts on whether launching Marathon as a “premium experience” might impede its potential for success. For added emphasis, he was also asked to compare this situation with the struggles faced by Concord.

In a rather evasive manner, Ziegler avoided directly disclosing the price of Marathon. Instead, he emphasized Bungie’s dedication to providing a satisfying full-fledged experience from the start, which they promise will continuously improve over time.

We’re hoping that what we’re showing is exciting enough that someone is going to take the leap with us. But we are also committed to delivering on seasons past this [launch] that will continuously evolve the game without an increase to the box price (…) we feel that the starting point is really strong at this current time.

Ziegler mentioned that, although people may have different ideas about how much a game like Marathon should cost, the team is optimistic that they will establish a price which is deemed reasonable and valuable by players.

Bungie hasn’t exactly lived up to its initial commitment of providing value for money in the past few years, as evidenced by the criticism leveled at both Destiny and Destiny 2 for their limited content offerings. These games, which were full-priced ($60) titles upon release, have required players to make frequent purchases to stay current with new content.

For several years, developers have struggled with finding a fair way to earn money from the game, and now, Destiny 2 has transformed into a free-to-play version. However, for those unwilling to invest any money in the game, it feels more like a condensed, limited demonstration of the first-person shooter (FPS) genre, with many captivating features hidden behind a paywall.

It’s intriguing to find out how much Marathon will cost in total, as well as uncover any hidden features it may have, given its distinctive appearance as an extraction shooter with a unique style.

On September 23rd, the new game, “Marathon,” is set to launch. You can enjoy it not just on your PC, but also on Xbox Series and PlayStation 5. Good news for those without a PlayStation Network account, as confirmed by Bungie, you won’t need one to play the game on platforms other than the PS5.

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2025-04-14 22:12