Marathon
Developer Bungie
Marathon is a 2026 first-person shooter video game developed and published by Bungie and distributed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced in May 2023, the game is the first new entry in Bungie's original Marathon series since the release of Marathon Infinity (1996). The new Marathon is a multiplayer extraction shooter with a focus on player versus player (PvP) gameplay, and loot extraction mechanics. It was… From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
366 reactions from 3 sources (Steam reviews, Bluesky, Mastodon) · newest Oct 7, 2026 · last updated Oct 7, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
177 positive · 95 negative
95% range 59–70%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 177 | 95 | 0 |
| Bluesky * | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mastodon * | 0 | 0 | 0 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
94 newer reactions are still waiting for a label.
What people are saying
Mixed reception: praised for gunplay and art, criticized for difficulty and Linux exclusion.
Many players praise the gunplay, art direction, and sound design, calling it a refreshing shooter. One player says the gunplay feels like 'Bungie DNA' and the environments are 'unlike anything else right now.' [1][5]
However, the game is widely criticized for its steep learning curve, punishing solo experience, and lack of Linux support. Some players allege Bungie is 'ignoring a player base over a SINGLE TOGGLE SWITCH ON BATTLEYE.' [24][27][33]
Summary drafted by an AI model from the 36 reactions it cites ([n] links open each post), then checked by code: every paragraph cites real posts and every quote is verbatim. Written Oct 7, 2026. Method
Reactions
60 of 366 · most liked firstDon't buy this game if you are on Linux. It starts but doesn't connect to game servers because of BattleEye. Bungie could have enables the proton use in BattleEye but they decided not to which implies a conscious decision against Linux users. Don't rewards those anticonsumer practices.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The cosmetics all cost 1500 premium currency. You can only buy 1000+100 bonus and another pack of 500 to get enough to buy it, or over pay for the 2200 currency pack. Good job bungie with your non-cancer monetization policys.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I played the game for a little bit and liked it, but I recently moved to Linux as my main OS and can no longer play the game due to anti-cheat restrictions. Please enable Linux support for BattlEye. Steam has a BattlEye client for Proton that other games support. This would also let people play Marathon on the Steam Deck and Steam Machine.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Marathon (Based on the Server Slam) Updated Gunplay is good, Every gun feels like a Bungie gun, you can just tell it's Bungie DNA. Art direction is also genuinely sick (subjectively, I'm just tired of EFT clones), the environments look unlike anything else right now and the audio slaps too. Oh and install size is only 18GB, which is honestly refreshing in 2026. The Bad The UI is still a mess at launch. Not "needs polish" terrible, items look the same, you're reading tooltips mid fight,…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Good so far. Don't ♥♥♥♥ it up, Bungie. And keep whoever handles seasonal content models for D2 as far from this game as possible.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Bungie is ignoring a player base over a SINGLE TOGGLE SWITCH ON BATTLEYE. Battleye is fully supported on proton/linux but they refuse to enable it. If this is supposed to be Bungie's big comeback locking out an entire Linux desktop and Steam deck community is a massive error here. You're leaving money and a player count on the table for zero technical reason. This is a policy issue not a platform port issue. And yes I waited in the main menu to even post this ridiculous review of unsupported OS…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →solo queue is basically a horror game, just play with no expectations and you'll be surprised just how addicting it gets once you get the ball rolling.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Fun game. Can't wait for the PVE experimental mode, so I don't always have to be on the verge of a heart attack.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →"Marathon", a 8-min animated short by Alberto Mielgo (Spider-Verse, Love Death & Robots) for the video game by Bungie Studios. Full film >> www.catsuka.com/news/2025-04...
unlabelledView post →Finally a game thats bold and confusing, lots of stuff to learn instead of just being held by your hand. Also art & music team, you deserve a raise!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's definitely the most "excellent game I wouldn't recommend" I have yet encountered. Look, for any FPS veteran out there, it is a truly remarkable game. Each element is cleverly thought out, and the game rewards your diligence and effort...only to the degree that you already came in with great FPS fundamentals and a general knowledge of battle royales and extraction shooters occurring in the past decade. I think if you are lacking in one (or both) of those skillsets, you'll find Marathon to…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →After 100 hours+ in Marathon (My issue remains the same) Pros: The game is really fun. It keeps you hooked. Cons: If you speak English and live in Asia, do not buy this game. The matchmaking is terrible. you're constantly placed in teams with players who don't speak English or communicate at all. If developers don't add an option to change matchmaking region, I'll stop playing when Season 2 launches. Literally every other game like Arc Raiders, Hunt Showdown, and Tarkov has this feature
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →After one full season of 3 months, here is a short review of Marathon. Short premise that i have about 2000 hours in Hunt Showdown, 300 hours in Arc Raiders and i have also played Tarkov, The Cycle and some other less noteworthy games in this exact genre to compare Marathon to. The worldbuilding, gunplay, atmosphere and sounddesign are exceptionally good. Nothing compares to naything i have ever played in terms of extracitonshooters. A lot of Games aim for super realistic settings and a…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →TL;DR This game is basically the gunplay of Halo, the movement/puzzles/public events of Destiny, and the shootouts of Apex Legends. For the rest of this review, keep in mind I played the original Open/Closed playtests and absolutely hated the game for a while. Gunplay The way guns feel and sound is super similar to what made Bungie's Halo games feel so good. The V11 Punch is basically a Plasma Pistol. The V22 Volt Thrower has a mod that turns it into a needler. And there's literally a mod…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →so far its such a good game, hate on marathon is so forced and people cant grasp the concept of 2 good games being in the same genre The more I play of marathon the more I feel myself wanting to go back it is not a bad game.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Striking visuals, incredible gunplay, stunning soundtrack, oppressive and dreadful atmosphere, and it's all tied together with *incredible* lore. It has a steep learning curve which will lead to a lot of people dropping it after a few hours, but once things *click*, it hits like crack. I cannot stop playing.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I bought the game, but I'm locked out unless I want a permanent ban. The preorder page didn't say SteamOS and its tools were prohibited. Well played, Bungie. Edit: got a refund np
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The setting is incredible, the shells are insanely cool, the gunplay is peak, but it is an extraction shooter. The gaming community is witnessing a strange trend. Extraction shooters are being released at a rate not seen before and some people are beginning to realize something. People ruin games. The evidence of this is being demonstrated not only in marathon but also in Arc. Arc has been infected with cheaters the same as Tarkov. The only reason Marathon isn't infested is because it doesn't…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →As a long time Destiny player I lived through Bungies fall from grace. I lost all faith in Bungie, and initially I was completely unimpressed with what I saw from Marathon. I was ready to completely write it off, after all I have been playing Arc and loving it. But, I reluctantly gave the server slam a shot. What happened next may be one of the biggest 180s I have ever experienced in gaming. Day 1, I was left confused by the UI (which still needs work), was not the biggest fan of the art…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is a long read. It’s hard to talk about Marathon without acknowledging the absolute mess of an environment it exists in. It’s an incredibly difficult, obtuse title with a relatively high learning curve, high stakes in a niche genre that was overbudgeted and went through a messy development. Combine that with the tumultuous reputation of Bungie mismanagement of adjacent IP’s in Destiny, and it's an easy game to hate on principle. It’s also incredibly unfair to hate the game on principle.…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Some folks might flame me for this, but I think Marathon is everything I wanted and didn't get from Apex Legends. - tight, responsive firefights - satisfying weapon designs - stunning environments - outstanding audio design (I've never stopped to listen to footsteps above me in a game before, it's wild) - overarching narrative - gear persistence between matches I have reservations about long term support and monetization given Bungie's history, but I'm loving this so far and I can't stop…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Refreshing shooter in today's climate of games. Art direction and aesthetic of the game is cool asf. Sound design does something to your brain, which is great for immersion in this dark weird sci-fi world. Install size makes you feel great, not eating at your storage space like every other game does. Good portion of this game feels like a visual novel w/ the factions lowkey but the lore is fascinating, and again, the art is great. In matches, the fights are consistently high-stakes which…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Such a beautiful game. So much wonderful art, impactful sound design, incredible maps. The UX and motion design alone in this game is top-tier. The colors, the flow, the impact. The cutscenes are neck deep in vibes. The abilities are satisfying to use, the feel of shooting a weapon in this game is top tier. All that, and they put it into a horrible extraction shooter with a 1 second time to kill that no one can enjoy. In a fight you're dead before you can even press an ability button, let…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Fun af, but honestly a hard one to recommend. The hook for the game takes longer than the 2 hour Steam Refund window, so it's difficult to tell someone to invest $40 into such a niche genre. Without a doubt though, this is the most fun I've had with an extraction shooter ever. It feels more like a action rogue-like than an extraction shooter to me, with how frequent I get loot. Even if I die terribly in one run the next could give me my previous loadout and more. I haven't felt the urge to…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I was wrong. I wanted to be a hater but this game is excellent so far. They struck a nice balance between the pvp focus of Hunt and the arcane, questing, stash simulator that is Tarkov. It really scratches the itch for me.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →You've never played a game with an aesthetic like Marathon - an aesthetic that erroneously convinces you you've pressed "start match" every single round
unlabelledView post →If you like extraction shooters and want to shoot people in the face, it's pretty good. If you don't like extraction shooters or PvP, then it's probably not gonna be up your alley. It has the now classic Bungie gunplay, a striking art style, really good sound design, and it runs well (which is NOT the norm nowadays, sadly) Does it have a future? Who knows, hopefully yes, because it's fun to play.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →For those who played the new Marathon and wished that it wasn't a PvP game: If you love the new cyber-brainsmash aesthetic, play the Cicadamata demo immediately. store.steampowered.com/app/3817250/... And if you want a more old-school Marathon, Supplice. Now. store.steampowered.com/app/1693280/...
unlabelledView post →I've been torn on what to rate Marathon, particularly in the last 10 hours or so that I've played. Ultimately I can't recommend the game in its current state to other players like me, namely people who primarily play solo and/or simply can't or don't want to spend most of their free time playing it. The biggest reasons are simple, firstly the actual solo part of the game was clearly an afterthought and the game isn't balanced around it at all. Not only do you gain faction rep at on average a…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Marathon is the perfect companion to ARC Raiders. Before the end of last year, the only online shooter I played for a considerable time was "Left4Dead" on XBOX360, but then came ARC Raiders, which changed my approach to such games. Now I have over 600 hours of ARC hunting under my belt and after participating in Server Slam I already know that Marathon will be the next big thing. Watching the gameplay from Alpha Tests, I was convinced that this wasn't for me—too colorful, too artificial, and…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →You'll start by getting destroyed, not knowing what's going on, consider it to look bad, etc. Then after a few rounds something just clicks and it becomes addictive. If I don't have 200 hours at the end of the year I'll be surprised
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →REVIEW FROM SOMEONE WHO PLAYED A LOT OF ARC RAIDERS AND A LOT (I MEAN A LOT) OF HUNT: SHOWDOWN If you like PvP then this is the game for you. If you don't like the shopping simulator, carebear hugbox gameplay of other big-name extraction shooters currently on the market then this is the game for you. If you like sci-fi settings with Eldritch horror and corpo-overlords then this is the game for you. If you like AI that dynamically patrols and is actually a significant threat to you then this…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A great game that only appeal for player who have high tolerance for failure/who enjoy highly competitive PvP. Unfortunately, I cannot recommend it to average/casual players who does not enjoy the loop of constant PvP fight non stop against more competent player as lot of the action can make noise which attract other players which might lost all your loot in the process, which makes your time invested in a raid feel frustrating. This does not played like an extraction shooter game shown by the…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A beautiful game with phenomenal gunplay. It has balanced classes (there will always be a meta). Extraction shooters just aren't for everybody. Current state is very PvP focused (step 1: wipe lobby, step 2: maybe that contract? Hey did any of those dead teams have a key?) and the skill/equipment wealth gap is very real. Incredibly punishing for newer players or those that do not have a consistent set of trios. Endgame content (fully unlocking all faction VIP upgrades) is effectively gated…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I’m pretty sure the reason that the Marathon community seems normal and fun so far is that it is an unc game. It’s a millennial game. It’s coworker game (complimentary) because the people who play it have jobs.
unlabelledView post →The game feels or actually was primarily made for a premade group. Because everything else feels like a waste of time. The game is definitely not for the majority of solo players and casuals! Only for the 1% hardcore players who keep going even after 20deaths back to back. They will go out of their way making it work, finding a good group etc. The rest will simply not and that's where it will end for most. As a solo player you don't really have access to the actual exciting content/looting…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Bungie actually did something quite experimental with this game imo. A AAA studio like bungie releasing an extremely niche super-future dystopian cyberpunk extraction shooter for $39.99 is actually quite surprising. I for one actually really love the art-style, the UI, and menus/music. Everything aesthetically clicks very hard for me at least. The gameplay is good, and the guns feel nice. Unfortunately after that is where we start seeing some of the cracks form. One of my biggest complaints…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →TLDR (well, kinda): I'm in my late 30's. I don't play FPS shooters too much, other than the occasional attempt at Battlefield or Call of Duty every few years. This game makes me feel like I'm a teenager again. It's intense. It's frustrating. It's sometimes soul crushing and other times the most hype experience I've had since playing Goldeneye with my friends. I don't play extraction shooters (this is my first) but this game is awesome. Check it out. For $40 - it's a steal. What else is there…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →All codes have been cracked and Cryo Archive’s seal thaws. Step foot into Marathon's first end-game zone soon. Coming March 20, 2026. youtu.be/SW8VRcMy5vU
unlabelledView post →I liked it alot! Casual weekend dad gamer here, enjoying it thus far! very balanced and responsive gunplay, quite a challenge with the bots, and player fights feel fair.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I'm sort of enjoying my time because the foundations are solid, but can't recommend Marathon in it's current state, despite knowing a lot of people are happy with where it's at and what it's trying to do. I seriously respect this game and its player base a lot. Marathon is absurdly difficult. Not just in the extraction and PvP, but the strange wiki/youtube research it requires to understand how to complete objectives or get better gear. You have to collect key card A so it will unlock door B…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Marathon deserves to be a game with 100x the players it has if ONLY because this Thief skin with the hollowed out 3D-printed skeleton torso goes unfathomably hard.
unlabelledView post →Yes and No. I do agree, this game is very well made, it has moments where gives you a rush that most pvp shooters wouldn't however at the end of the day, it is an extraction shooter. These days people have less and less time to play games and if you just come on to lose and lose all day it just lowers the motivation to keep going. The highs on this game are really high, but the lows are really low. As far as the gunplay and gameplay goes, amazing. The weapons are all very unique, they all…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Visually stunning and guns feel great, but the actual gameplay experience sucks balls. 90% of your time spent in the game is "dead time", you're either in menus, inventory screens or sneaking through some building. Actually using your weapons feels like a mistake half the time as well. It's like you buy a Ferrari, and then only use it to drop your kids off at school, and do groceries. It's pretty to look at, but that's kind of where it ends. EDIT: I gave it another chance with the new…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I really wanted to like Marathon, I mostly walked away feeling disappointed rather than excited. The gunplay is solid, which is expected from Bungie, but the rest of the experience feels strangely hollow. The PvE encounters feel chaotic and hard to read, enemies look too similar, and fighting them often doesn’t feel worth it because the loot drops are inconsistent or underwhelming. A lot of the time it feels like you’re just wandering through similar-looking areas without a clear sense of…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →There are Japanese fan edits of Marathon now This game isn't dying any time soon Credit: ikazombie on twitter
unlabelledView post →Marathon - early pinwheel The Pinwheel. An iconic location in-game, we helped Bungie find its unique identity. Team: Design Director: Floris Didden These artworks by: Concept Designer: Josephine Pallus Lead Designer: Christoph Stryczek Client, Copyright: Bungie
unlabelledView post →Game is pretty fun, not perfect but with updates i could see this being an even better game than it is already.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →As a player with hundreds of hours in extraction shooters while also having thousands of hours in destiny 2 (check profile) i wanted to give this game a fare shake without letting the drama influence my opinion. The game is too hardcore, and i understand the nuance of: "jack of all trades master of none with a large audience VS a small but dedicated audience that diehard play and monetarily support the life of the game". the main reason this game will die is because the developers are used to…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The game was fantastic, and was Bungie’s ball to drop. The ball has been dropped. Maybe we will find it picked up again in December, but at this point we are hoping for a no man’s sky level of a comeback. Good luck to the devs and thanks for some great times
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I do not like extraction shooters and i really do not like PvP. I treat this game as a rouglike like hades and a stealth action game like mgsV. Its a lot of fun as a solo. Havent tried with random groups though.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →From halfway through Season 1, I did not recommend this game, and I still currently do not recommend this game. HOWEVER, it is highly likely that my review will change upon the release of Season 3 if they add a pure PvE mode that is permanent. Instead of making a new review, I've decided to edit my review so that the comments remain a testament to the true downfall of this game. Whether I have gripes with the gameplay direction Bungie has gone with Marathon, or whether I have criticisms of…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Got to give credit where credit is due. I was opposed to this game as I dont like games that are this competitive. But then I read this reddit post about spending more on a pizza and I thought, I am gamer who plays games. Why do I worry so much about these things. Just give it a try and if it sucks I am out one night of dinner out. And damn this game is really good. Creation wise. The developers really did a nice job here. Super cool unique game that is hard AF . But I went in thinking you…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Official gameplay trailer for Bungie’s new game #Marathon 🎮 Releasing September 23
unlabelledView post →It's sad that this game is destined to die at this point. Despite all the hate it got at launch, I actually enjoyed it. The art, atmosphere, and most of all gunplay are all great. Unfortunately, it seems like they spent all their money on fancy cutscenes and advertising. The game launched without duos and now it's here as a rotating map modifier instead of an actual mode. The game only has three base maps (not counting the raid mode). This is not a casual extraction shooter like Arc Raiders.…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →i've been trying to sing this game's praises for months and months, even back in the closed alpha, and while i certainly came to the original titles later than some, i feel confident in saying: marathon 2026 is some of the best sci-fi i have seen in any videogame ever. it expands upon themes and concepts introduced by the original games in new, unique ways. it explores parts of the setting that the originals skimmed over, in a way that is both accessible to new players and engaging to oldheads…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Bungie is making an effort to block Linux users from playing Marathon, and you won't find out until after you've already bought it. This is a deliberate choice, because Steam provides a BattleEye Runtime that works through Proton, countless BE-enabled games run flawlessly on Linux, and BattleEye even offers developer support for Linux compatibility. Bungie simply chose not to bother. Save your money and play ARC Raiders instead (which uses BattleEye and works on linux/SteamOS).
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Marathon has been nominated for the World Soundtrack Awards 2026 Game Music Award! Head to www.worldsoundtrackawards.com for more information, and to cast your vote.
unlabelledView post →Intense butt hole clinching fever dream of cybernetic surrealism. 10/10
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →UPDATE: RIGHT THIS IS A SCI FI JOKE for the game Marathon! Okay sorry! Carry on everyone.
unlabelledView post →
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