Bungie highlights some of the biggest talking points from fan feedback and reveals how the studio is planning to address these issues in a future Marathon update. Since launch, player feedback has been a critical component for Bungie who has continued to keep Marathon consistently updated alongside the addition of new content.
In fact, it could be argued that player feedback has largely driven the course of the game, as poor reception to last year’s alpha test helped Bungie ultimately delay the game and add in highly requested features like a solo queue and proximity chat. While Marathon launched in a much better state due to the delay and improvements, Bungie has continued to rely on the community of players for how to further enhance the experience. Not long after launch, Bungie launched an experimental Duos mode for Marathon, a highly requested feature that didn’t make launch, but has quickly become a popular feature.
Most Bungie Developers Are Working on Marathon Instead of Destiny 2
A new report indicates that the majority of the team working at Bungie has been assigned to work on Marathon instead of Destiny 2.
Hot on the heels of the April 28 update for Marathon, Bungie took to social media to address some of the bigger player concerns currently happening with the game. One such issue was actually addressed as part of the most recent update, as the popular WSTR shotgun had its damage nerfed, which Bungie indicated was only temporary. As part of the patch notes for the April 28 update, Bungie admitted that the shotgun had its damage nerfed a little too hard, with its damage falloff and effectiveness against AI going back to levels prior to the initial nerf.
Guess the games from the emojis.
Guess the games from the emojis.
Easy (120s)Medium (90s)Hard (60s)
Another major talking point is the potential for grenade spam, an issue which Marathon game director Joe Ziegler admitted is a big talking point for developers at the studio. As Bungie indicated, players are unhappy with how gunfights typically devolve into a barrage of grenades just raining down. While details on a fix are still in flux, Bungie hinted that some potential options include a stock count and stack size limit before Season 1 comes to an end.
Lastly, the Gold Ares Railgun was also on the list, especially those running a Prestige mod that made it capable of one-shotting a runner with a purple or gold shield. As expected, Bungie called this level of damage unintentional and a fix is on the way. While Bungie wants the gun to feel strong and powerful, especially with those level of attachments, the weapon shouldn’t be able to take down runners of that level, which makes it frustrating to go up against.
Either way, this level of communication between Bungie and players isn’t a fluke as it has been consistent since Marathon launched in March. It also goes hand in hand with Bungie promising years of steady improvements for Marathon and that the development team is in it for the long haul.
Who’s That Character?
Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.
Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.
Easy (7.5s)Medium (5.0s)Hard (2.5s)Permadeath (2.5s)
With Season 1 now more than halfway over, the arrival of Marathon‘s first wave of player resets is on the horizon. Season 1 of Marathon is set to end sometime in June, with Season 2 Nightfall set to take over through August. Bungie hasn’t yet revealed the full details for how Season 1 will end or what players can expect in Nightfall, but the studio has teased new content additions like nighttime versions of maps, a new runner shell, and more content. In fact, Nightfall is set to introduce a new feature called the Cradle, a system that will allow players more freedom over their runner shell’s various strengths and weaknesses.
- Released
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March 5, 2026
- ESRB
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Teen / Animated Blood, Language, Violence, In-Game Purchases, Users Interact
- Multiplayer
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Online Multiplayer, Online Co-Op
