During Bungie’s recent stream showcasing early glimpses of their new first-person extraction shooter, Marathon, social media and Reddit were buzzing with mixed reactions. Some users, drawing comparisons to the ill-fated hero shooter Concord—which Sony removed from the shelves within a mere month of its debut—predicted a similar downfall for Marathon. In the midst of all the chatter, a former Concord developer stepped up on the Marathon subreddit, urging folks to keep an open mind.
In a candid post, the developer, under the Reddit handle MrSpug, reflected, “Concord didn’t quite capture players’ hearts—and trust me, we got that message loud and clear. Witnessing our project crash and burn, turning into an online punchline, was a hard pill to swallow.”
Having been part of the team at Firewalk Studios before Sony pulled the plug a few months post-launch, this developer couldn’t help but empathize with the creators of Marathon. They praised the Bungie team for daring to dive into the fiercely competitive extraction shooter market.
“I poured my heart into Concord and gave it my all,” they admitted. “Sure, we fell short, but that’s no reason to penalize others for our errors.”
While Concord and Marathon are different beasts, both fall under Sony’s umbrella. A significant point of contention rooted in Bungie’s stream was the decision to avoid a free-to-play model. Like Concord, Marathon is priced below typical new releases. Bungie hinted at a cost less than a full-priced game, likely around $40 when it launches in September. Yet, the fact it carries a price tag at all has led some to speculate if it’ll face a fate similar to Concord.
In response to further conversations, the former Concord developer added, “I didn’t want to play the card of the seasoned dev, claiming to have some stake in this. But to call a game a failure before it even hits the shelves? That’s just baffling to me.”
