Tag: Bungie
It's aiming for a Marathon
Earlier today, analytics firm Alinea released its sales estimates for first-person shooter Marathon. They looked low to us, but double-sourcing from Forbes suggests they may be close to the truth. According to the report, the Bungie extraction shooter has sold 1.2 million copies since launching on 5th March, with the vast...
News Marathon's Cryo Archive Locks Out a Lot of Players, But Bungie Is Listening to Feedback
Developer "watching and ingesting" player concerns
If you're playing Marathon, you may have gotten to try out Cryo Archive this past weekend, the shooter's big, raid-like endgame mode. Or, maybe you didn't, due to its fairly restrictive requirements. Cryo Archive is a focal point for dedicated players of the sci-fi extraction shooter, and...
Review Marathon (PS5) - Bungie's Extraction Shooter Is Truly Brilliant, and It Only Gets Better
It's a marathon, not a sprint
There’s been a lot of heat surrounding Marathon in the lead-up to its launch. Some say it’s not what they want from Bungie, others say it's a far cry from the glory days of Halo. But cutting through all of the noise, we think Marathon is actually a bold new adventure from Bungie. It may take you a little bit to...
News Marathon's All-Important Endgame Mode Cryo Archive Is Finally Here
Ice ice baby
Marathon’s piece de resistance Cryo Archive is finally here. The endgame raid mode has been billed as an all-important addition to the Bungie first-person shooter, and it’s what we’ve been waiting for before filing our full PS5 review. The mode was unlocked as part of an ongoing community ARG which was always planned to come to...
News 'This Is Big Unemployed Behaviour': Overwatch Dev Roasts SteamDB Fanatics
Out for the count
A growing trend in hardcore gaming communities revolves around Steam concurrent player numbers. As one of the few publicly available measures of a game’s success (or lack thereof), we’ve seen the emphasis on them escalate in recent times. While they only track the number of people playing a specific title on a single platform...
Endurance run
Marathon is doing fine, it’s certainly no Concord like many predicted pre-release – but there’s a big question emerging around whether it’s doing well enough. While we don’t have data for consoles like PS5, we can see the extraction shooter peaked at 88k concurrent players on Steam at launch, and has steadily been declining...
News Artist Embroiled in Marathon Art Theft Scandal Credited as Visual Design Consultant
And that's the end of that
The artist who was at the centre of a Marathon art theft scandal has been credited in the game as a Visual Design Consultant. Less than a year ago, dev Bungie was forced to conduct a “thorough review” after it emerged assets originally created by Scottish artist Antireal, or Fern Hook, had been included in the game...
News Marathon PS5 User Reviews Remarkably Positive After String of Live Service Disasters
A pinch of positivity
Marathon is getting a universally positive response on storefronts like the PS Store, proving fans are at least enjoying Bungie’s newest shooter. Right now on Sony’s storefront, the game has a 4.77 rating based on 3k reviews. If we compare that to another recent live service shooter, the dying Highguard, it has a 3.1...
Site News Where's Our Marathon PS5 Review?
It's not a sprint
Marathon is out now and you may be wondering when we’ll publish our PS5 review. After all, this is a major first-party game from Sony and represents the culmination of the console maker’s $3 billion Bungie acquisition. The truth is, you won’t read our review for a little while. As a live service game, the extraction shooter...
News PS Studios Show Support for Marathon's PS5 Launch with Brilliant Artwork
We are family
It's the launch of a Sony first-party game, and that means a bunch of lovely artwork from the rest of PS Studios. Today sees the launch of Marathon, Bungie's new survival extraction shooter. To celebrate the game's arrival, a few other first-party studios have conjured up some great art depicting characters crossing paths. So far,...
Out Today Marathon's PS5 Launch Puts Sony's $3B Live Service Gamble to the Test
Run the race
Marathon is out today, and Sony’s big $3 billion acquisition is riding on its success. Back when the Japanese giant acquired Bungie in 2022, it felt like a strange fit. Despite its work on Destiny, the studio is best known for
News Marathon PS5 Is Out Here Turning Its Launch Trailer into a Music Video
In Death We've Just Begun
Even if you're not really into what Bungie is doing with the gameplay of Marathon, you have to appreciate the stylised approach of its marketing beats and trailers. Case in point: a day before release, it has turned the title's launch trailer into a music video. Performed by Poppy and Son Lux, it's an eight-minute look at...
News Bungie Confirms First Two Marathon Seasons, Both Adding Free Content
Season 1 until June, Season 2 then until August
As it does with Destiny 2, developer Bungie will be hoping Marathon becomes enough of a success to let it support it with new content in the years to come. To that end, the studio has shared what to expect from the game's first two seasons. Season 1 lines up with the title's launch later this week, on...
Hands On Marathon Is Dense, Demanding, and Drop Dead Gorgeous
Reach for the stars
We can tell you one thing for free: Marathon isn’t another ARC Raiders-like extraction shooter. Where Embark’s phenomenal title is instantly fun and approachable for most gamers, Marathon is dense, brutally tough, and clearly catering to a more hardcore niche. And we think that’s a good thing. That means, of course, that...
News 140K+ Players Slam Marathon Servers in Pre-Launch Test, and That's Just on PC
Bungie title proving popular
The big Marathon server slam is now underway ahead of the game's full release on 5th March, and it's attracting a lot of curious players. During its first 24 hours of free access, the server slam peaked at 143,621 concurrent players on PC. With the weekend approaching, the chances its peak player count increases are...
News If This Marathon Trailer Doesn't Get You Hyped for the PS5 FPS, Nothing Will
By hook or Rook
After a shaky reveal period, Marathon’s marketing has been on point for a while now. But this latest cinematic trailer, released prior to the game’s impending server slam, is the piece de resistance so far. It depicts a Rook – a lone Runner, searching for scraps – after a climactic battle. As he tries to prise some loot...
News 'No Second Chances': Marathon Cheaters Will Be Banned Forever, Bungie Says
Hardball
Bungie is on the verge of launching its latest game, Marathon — an extraction multiplayer shooter based on the studio's old series. Releasing on PS5, PC, and Xbox Series X|S on 5th March 2026, the sci-fi FPS is just over a week away, and the team has shared a blog post highlighting its efforts regarding network and security measures...
News Marathon's Collector's Edition May Have the Best Packaging We've Ever Seen
This is wonderful
Whatever your thoughts on the game itself, Marathon’s aesthetic is being universally lauded. It’s the kind of game you will want to buy the art book for, because it’s so distinctive and unique. Everything from the colours to the character designs to the little world details sing, and that’s all represented by the...
News Sorry Haters, But Marathon Is Looking Real Good Right Now
Saucy
We’ll all get a chance to make up our mind on Marathon when the Server Slam gets underway in a little over a week, from 26th February. But tell you what: the game is looking real good right now. This extended gameplay clip shows a squad fighting against the AI, before getting embroiled in a PvP battle against another team. The video...
News PS5's Welcome Hub Updated to Promote Sony's Forthcoming FPS
It's a Marathon, not a sprint
PS5’s landing page, the Welcome Hub, gets updated from time-to-time with new wallpapers and features. And a few weeks removed from Marathon’s release, the platform holder has refreshed it with a new background inspired by Bungie’s extraction shooter. Unfortunately, this isn’t animated and doesn’t include any...
News You're All Invited to Play Marathon's Server Slam from 26th February
PS Plus members bag weapon charms based on first-party franchises
Everyone’s invited to participate in Marathon’s server slam from 26th February through 2nd March, giving you an early opportunity to try out the title before you commit to the full thing. The open preview period – available to everyone across all platforms, including PS5 –...
News Unsurprisingly, Marathon Will Be Part of the Latest State of Play
Extract a little more info
It shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone, but Bungie’s upcoming extraction shooter Marathon – due out on 5th March – will be part of the latest State of Play, broadcasting later today. (You can find out when and where to watch the livestream through here.) Writing on the game’s official Discord
News Marathon's Slick Sci-Fi Visuals Will Look Particularly Crisp on PS5 Pro
Smooth operator
Bungie's upcoming multiplayer shooter Marathon has always had a strong aesthetic whenever we've seen it, and it looks as though its neon colours and square-edged buildings will look especially sharp on Sony's PS5 Pro console. We suppose that goes without saying, but it's worth highlighting how the game is utilising PS5 Pro's power,...
News Marathon PS5 Officially Dated for 5th March, Up for Pre-Order at $40
Deluxe Edition for $60
Following this weekend's leak, Bungie has officially confirmed Marathon will launch for PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC on 5th March 2026. It's £35 / $40 for the base version, with a Deluxe Edition also available. Catch the release date trailer up above. With its updated visual design and look, the fresh slice of footage...
News Marathon's PS5 Release Date Looks Like It's Leaked
It's a Marathon, not a sprint
Marathon, the extraction shooter from Bungie, is just weeks away. While the Washington-based Sony subsidiary had previously committed to a March release window, we can now be fairly confident the extraction shooter will, well, extract on 5th March. Word comes by way of a release date trailer erroneously – and...
News Marathon Art Director Departs Bungie as the Game Enters Its Final Stretch
"I'll be enjoying playing the game as a fan"
Joseph Cross, the art director on Bungie's upcoming shooter Marathon, has announced his resignation from the company. Originally reported by Kotaku, Cross has now made this move official with a brief statement on social media: This comes just after Marathon's recent reintroduction following heavy...
News Bungie's Marathon Locks in March 2026 Release Date on PS5, Priced at $40
It's a Marathon, not a...
Bungie has confirmed a March 2026 release window for Marathon, its previously troubled multiplayer shooter. The PS5, Xbox, and PC title will launch with a price tag of $39.99 / €39.99 / £34.99, which the developer assures will entitle all players to "a roadmap of free updates as the year progresses". What's more,...
News Ahead of Renegades Launch, Destiny 2 Dev Explains New Approach to Expansions
"We don't want to be a dead live game"
Next week, on 2nd December, a new expansion pack for Destiny 2 arrives. It's called Renegades, it's heavily inspired by Star Wars, and developer Bungie is hoping it'll begin to turn the sci-fi shooter's fortunes around. Early signs are pretty good, as the expansion is firmly within the top five pre-order...
News Destiny 3 Allegedly in 'Extremely Early Development', Could Be a Tentpole Title for PS6
But likely many years away
Rumour has it that Bungie has started preliminary work on Destiny 3, which if true would comfortably become one of Sony’s biggest releases for the PS6. The speculation comes courtesy of Colony Deaks, a known Destiny leaker and dataminer who’s revealed accurate information in the past. Writing on X (or Twitter), the...
News In Destiny 2's Darkest Moment, Bungie Is Betting on Star Wars to Bring Players Back
Renegades does look good, to be fair
It’s no secret that Destiny 2 has fallen on some pretty hard times. Chaos within the company’s upper-management, a dwindling player base, and bad decisions have caused Sony to step in and start to enforce its influence over the $3 billion developer. The Japanese giant recently noted during a financial call...
News The Much Maligned PS5 Shooter Marathon Returns for Another Playtest in December
Not a sprint
Bungie's sci-fi extraction shooter Marathon will soon be playable again for a limited time, and you can sign up to take part. The game has had a rough time of it, what with an art-related mishap and a general lack of interest, but the
News Sony Speaks on Bungie Acquisition Disaster, Takes an 'Impairment Loss'
Sales, user engagement fallen short of expectations
Sony's $3.6 billion purchase of Destiny 2 developer Bungie has, for all intents and purposes, been an utter disaster, and the PS5, PS4 hardware maker all but knows it at this point. Having bought the studio to assist its push into the live-service space, Sony has cancelled multiple multiplayer...
News Sony's Acquisition of Bungie Continues to Be Questioned as Destiny 2 Falls Off a Cliff
Again
Destiny 2, the ongoing live service shooter from Bungie, is seriously struggling to retain players right now. To be fair, the game does have a fairly sizeable DLC coming up in December — you know, the Star Wars one — but at the time of writing this article, there's some real doom and gloom surrounding Destiny 2 as a whole. A particularly...
News Bungie's Maligned FPS Marathon Makes Its Return in Closed Technical Test This Month
We go again
Sony’s got a lot riding on Marathon. It needs the game to be a success. It’s such a shame, then, that the title’s been a bit of a disaster so far. Aside from the drama involving stolen assets, the extraction shooter just hasn’t captured all that much mainstream attention. Look, we
News Bungie's Much Criticised Shooter Marathon Will Skip PS5's New State of Play
Gotta take a little time
Marathon, the upcoming multiplayer shooter from Bungie, will reportedly not be showing up at this week's State of Play broadcast. The studio's been reluctant to discuss its game for months now, following on from the disastrous revelation that the project had plagiarised a plethora of art assets. Bungie was forced to carry...
News Destiny 2 Does Its Best Star Wars Impression with Renegades Expansion
A guardian far, far away
You can learn a lot about the public sentiment for Destiny 2 by reading the YouTube comments for this new Renegades expansion. “I’ll just keep playing Helldivers 2,” several of them say. And to think Sony spent $3.5 billion on developer Bungie for its live service expertise, eh? Look, with Marathon delayed it’s
News Bungie Boss Pete Parsons Departs as Sony Starts to Take Control of Flagging Dev
Going through changes
Bungie boss Pete Parsons is out as the embattled developer continues to go through a significant shake-up. Sony recently said that it’ll be taking more control of the Marathon maker and will be integrating the studio under its PS Studios umbrella. After its acquisition, Bungie was granted autonomy separate from...
News Sony Controlling More of Marathon Dev Bungie, Will Be Integrated into PS Studios
Marathon to launch by April 2026
Sony has reiterated its intentions to take more ownership and control of Bungie as it looks to fully integrate the Destiny 2, Marathon developer into PS Studios. Following a string of controversies and failures, the studio update was shared by Sony CFO Lin Tao in the Q&A section of the company's latest financial...
News Bungie Delays Marathon Indefinitely, No New PS5, PC Release Date Given
Game needs more time to reflect player passion
Bungie has today confirmed it's issuing an indefinite delay to its upcoming PS5, PC extraction shooter Marathon. A new release date hasn't been revealed, but more news will be shared towards the end of 2025. In a post to the official Bungie website, the developer said: "Through every comment and...
News There's a Brutal Lack of Interest in Marathon from Hardcore PS5 Fans
Run for it
Sony's ill-advised live service push has resulted in pretty extreme skepticism from the PlayStation faithful — and it's really starting to look like Marathon will struggle to find any kind of footing with hardcore PS5 fans. Bungie's shooter was included in a big poll that we hosted on the site last week. We asked readers of Push Square...
News Bungie Leaders Reportedly Pitched Destiny 2 Subscription, But Got 'Vehemently' Shut Down
Former staff speak out against Bungie's leadership
Marathon developer Bungie has come under fire in recent weeks over an artwork scandal and it seems more dirty laundry is being aired about past internal operations of the studio now owned by Sony. Game journalist Destin Legarie has released a new video featuring allegations from former Bungie...
Rumour Bungie Targeting a Top Five 2025 Title with Marathon
Good luck
According to well-connected Bungie beat reporter Paul Tassi, the Sony studio has placed massive expectations on Marathon. Speaking as part of a video in which he outlines all the problems facing the upcoming extraction shooter, he said that he heard the game “needed to be in the top five of NPD sales for the year if it’s going to be a...
Studio said to be in free fall
It’s not been a good week for Marathon maker Bungie – but then it feels like we type out that sentence every couple of months anyway. Forbes claims morale at the Washington-based outfit is in “free fall” after it was accused of plagiarising art assets earlier this week. To the studio’s credit, it respond
News Bungie Conducting 'Thorough Review' After Plagiarised Art Is Found in Marathon
Not a good look
It’s not been a good 24 hours for Sony, with live service game Fairgames seemingly falling apart at the seams and Stellar Blade PC being blocked for sale in a whopping 129 countries. But now subsidiary Bungie has been forced to
News Destiny 2 Travels to a Galaxy Far, Far Away in Star Wars Themed Expansion on PS5, PS4
Bungie lays out future of its first-person shooter
Bungie is not pulling the plug on Destiny 2, which at least relieves some of the pressure on its upcoming extraction shooter, Marathon. As part of a livestream this week, the Sony subsidiary revealed the full-extent of its plans for the first-person shooter, including two expansion packs – one of...
Video Everything You Need to Know About Marathon
See you starside
Bungie is taking a punt at the extraction shooter genre with Marathon, a PvPvE reimagining of its sci-fi series from the 90s. It was great to finally see the game in action with the recent showcase, but if we’re being honest, we don’t think Bungie really did the best job at explaining the deeper intricacies of its upcoming...
News The Future of Destiny 2 Will Be Revealed Soon, as Bungie Teases The Edge of Fate
A twist of fate
Bungie's a busy studio these days, isn't it? Having just handed us a full reveal of Marathon, the developer is now looking ahead to a big Destiny 2 event that's happening next month. We don't have much information to go on right at this moment, but we do know that the ongoing shooter's next expansion is called The Edge of Fate, and...
News Marathon Maker Thinks Players Are Too Toxic for Proximity Chat in New PS5 Game
"I don't think anyone has a good solution"
Bungie’s upcoming extraction shooter Marathon won’t have proximity chat when it launches on 23rd September, because the developer thinks players are too toxic to handle it. Proximity chat works by allowing you to overhear opponents when they’re nearby. This makes it a strategic feature, as gobby...
News PS5 Fans Give Bungie's Marathon the Cold Shoulder, 34% Say You'd Have to Pay Them to Play
Halo, goodbye
Sony and Bungie’s big new live service bet has been met with an icy reception from PS5’s core fanbase, with a staggering 34% of Push Square readers saying they’d need to be paid to play the title. Of the more than 2,000 fans polled, a further 37% said they don’t think the extraction shooter’s for them, with just 8% saying...
Poll Are You Planning to Buy Bungie's Marathon?
A Marathon, not a sprint
Bungie has revealed Marathon, a release which carries massive significance for both owner Sony and the Bellevue-based studio itself. The game, which will not be free-to-play but also won’t cost $70, will come with six character classes and three maps. It seems like a pretty puny offering at launch, but with a Battle Pass...
