Bungie has indeed made the next science fiction extraction shooter Marathon quite clear, and the date set for the release is March 5, 2026. Alongside the announcement, the official Destiny 2 social media accounts revealed that players who pre-order the game would instantly receive three attractive cosmetic items for Destiny 2 as a bonus. The news has created a loud and mixed response from the gaming community, which not only showcases the upside of the new title but also the downside of the present handling of Destiny 2 by Bungie.
So, it’s March 5th, 2026, which is marathon’s official release date. So long! It’s pretty much a lot of time, to be honest, and the main thing here is the pre-order bonus: a Ghost shell, a ship, and a sparrow for Destiny 2, but like, right off the bat! It’s a standard cross-promotion strategy that is trying to leverage the massive Destiny player base to create interest in the new title. And wow, it did stir up a reaction for sure.
The comment section of the announcement post resembles a war zone of comments. It feels like the player base is split down the middle. On the one hand, there are players who are just ecstatic about the new loot. For example, Jeff was just admiring the ship and he said “That ships looking pretty 🟦 wonder what shaders will look like on it.” Pure, simple, and clean excitement. Others like Stefan wanted to clarify: “Does this count for those who bought the Collector’s Edition?” Just the usual inquiries related to pre-order logistics.
However, if you keep scrolling, you’ll find a completely different story. The other group is very upset. They are not just slightly annoyed; they are in full caps-lock rage. A large percentage of replies do not even mention Marathon; instead, they are talking about Destiny 2. Gamers are using this Marathon giveaway as a platform to loudly express all their complaints about Destiny. Just like that. The user ‘CuriouzColette’ did not even refer to the date. He simply fired: “How about the roadmap instead?” Ouch. That is a direct hit.
And it gets worse with the technical issues. Plenty of people claimed the rewards just…did not materialize. “Mine isn’t coming up in special deliveries,” Jay said. “My items are still not in the kiosk after my preorder,” Thugshaker(adept) added. Speedy pointed out that it was worse for console players: “Drops for console players aren’t dropping. I don’t understand why we can’t have a new thing without a hundred different issues with it.” This is the typical Bungie launch experience, but this time it relates to a pre-order bonus. Not a good look when you are trying to convince players to try a new game that is two years away.
The technical issues have caused a shift in the overall tone of the conversation – people are now discussing conspiracy theories and animosity. There are some gamers who are absolutely convinced that Bungie is purposefully ruining Destiny 2 to lure players to Marathon. “I was going to be fair to Marathon,” wrote Another Hunter, “but if the mid-season update gets delayed just to force D2 gamers to play it then I will boycott it in protest.” This was a strong sentiment and JBoyOnTheRun’s comment was very similar: “We #Destiny players don’t care. Why hurt us? Delaying our content for something most of us won’t play?”
The financial aspect was another point of view that got the gamers angry. LilRevan_ pointed out the gourmet timing: “You just initiated a new season of content last month and now you want us to shift from D2 to another $70+ game after spending $120 on Year of Prophecy??” Many people linked the announcement to a cash grab, especially considering Bungie’s recent past. Firezilla bluntly put it: “Please let us nickel and dime you one last time! – Bungor.” Ouch!
Then, of course, there are the die-hard pessimists. Zeroo was very straightforward, “So, Marathon is unfortunately going to be done by the most failed company in the history of gaming… Investing a single dollar is like committing suicide.” Eledium2016, on the other hand, just referred to it as a dead-on-arrival case: “Marathon is DOA.” While this is a very strict judgment, one can understand it – the trust is completely gone for a large part of the community.
However, it is not all bad news and gloom that come out of this. Some of the replies are just plain weird. Jordan Dickson admitted: “NGL I thought it was a Lego set.” Well, judging by the promo art, I would kind of see it too. And then there is the ongoing discussion about platforms like Xbox.
