PS5 Fans Give Bungie’s Marathon the Cold Shoulder, 34% Say You’d Have to Pay Them to Play

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Among PlayStation 5’s dedicated fans, Sony and Bungie’s latest live service project has encountered a frosty response, as indicated by a survey on Push Square, where an impressive 34% of respondents expressed that they would only consider playing the game if they were compensated to do so.

Among over 2,000 fans I polled, an additional 37% expressed that the extraction shooter isn’t their cup of tea, while only 8% declared they would purchase the game on its release day.

It can be noted that the remaining 22% appear to be persuadable: they’ve expressed interest in testing the product during future beta phases, or they require additional information before making a buying decision.

Approximately 60% of respondents expressed doubts about the game’s promising future, with around 24% of them predicting that its longevity might mirror that of the short-lived Concord, which was launched and faded away within just a couple of weeks.

Only 4% of those voting thought Marathon would have a bright future.

These numbers paint a remarkably bleak picture, and even though they might not encompass the whole PlayStation 5 fan community, they do mirror the preferences of Sony’s core consumer base – those who passionately advocate for exclusive titles such as God of War and The Last of Us.

In simpler terms, the community of Push Square generally leans towards enjoying extensive single-player games rather than online-only live services. As such, launching a game that’s exclusively online may encounter challenges. Additionally, reactions on social media aren’t overwhelmingly positive – many believe the game could face tough competition in a market where it carries a high price tag.

Fun fact: Just as some folks doubted Helldivers 2’s triumph, it eventually broke records by becoming Sony’s top-selling exclusive title ever. Who knows, maybe we’ll witness a similar turn of events for the next big thing!

Nevertheless, it could be contended that the Arrowhead outing was not heavily anticipated, whereas the platform owner might find their $3.6 billion purchase of Bungie resting largely on the success of Marathon.

The developer has a lot of convincing to do, then.

As a gamer, I’ve been scratching my head lately about the extraction shooter genre. It seems like a tough nut to crack for many players, and I’m left wondering if Bellevue Studio can find a way around this challenge. With their latest game seeming to bet everything on this one genre, it’s hard not to worry about how they’ll pull it off.

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2025-04-14 13:06