Importance Score: 45 / 100 🔵
Bungie’s highly anticipated multiplayer title, Marathon, is poised to be a significant live-service offering under the PlayStation banner. This upcoming game ventures into the demanding realm of extraction shooters, a genre known for its intensity, but it originates from a renowned studio committed to high-quality productions. The pivotal question on many gamers’ minds is: What will be the price of Marathon upon its launch this fall? As of now, Bungie remains tight-lipped about the cost.
Marathon’s Price Point Still Under Wraps
During a recent gameplay showcase, revealing a September 23 release date, audiences were given a comprehensive look at Bungie’s distinctive approach to the competitive and collaborative PvPvE genre, marking a modern iteration of the classic ‘90s FPS series. However, the crucial factor determining launch success for the creators of Halo and Destiny remains: Marathon‘s pricing strategy. Despite being a Sony-owned entity, Bungie has yet to disclose the game’s price, though indications suggest it won’t be a free-to-play experience.
Premium Product, Not Full Price
According to reports from Tamoor Hussain of GameSpot, who recently had hands-on experience with the shooter, Marathon is slated to launch as a “premium product,” implying a price tag for entry. Hussain’s account details features like a battle pass, an initial offering of three maps with a fourth soon to follow, core gameplay mechanics, an emerging narrative, and a character progression system still in nascent stages of development.
Speculation on Pricing Models
Industry analyst Paul Tassi from Forbes has questioned the viability of a $70 price tag given the described content, a sentiment seemingly echoed by Bungie, who clarified that Marathon “will not be a full-priced title.” The prevailing theory suggests a $40 price point—a common strategy for premium games aiming for broad appeal. This price aligns with titles like Helldivers 2 and is notably less than the cost of Destiny 2‘s The Final Shape expansion.
Lessons from Concord and the Live-Service Landscape
However, $40 was also the price point for Sony’s Concord, a hero shooter that struggled to attract players, leading to its swift removal and refunds. The Concord situation ignited debates about whether a free-to-play model, or inclusion in PlayStation Plus, could have altered its trajectory. This question looms over every new live-service shooter in the wake of Concord‘s underperformance.
Bungie’s History and Market Realities
Historically, Bungie has not offered its games for free. Even Destiny 2, while featuring a free-to-play version, reserves significant content behind paywalls. This approach is understandable given the substantial development costs associated with games like Destiny 2 and Marathon. With AAA titles like Spider-Man 2 requiring massive sales to become profitable, relying solely on microtransactions is risky unless a game achieves phenomenal popularity akin to Marvel Rivals, a level of mainstream appeal that Marathon’s hardcore nature may not readily attain.
Balancing Genre Niche and Brand Power
Unlike Destiny 2, Marathon appears to prioritize PvPvE gameplay without a traditional story campaign, positioning it within a more specialized genre. In a market saturated with free-to-play PvP games, any upfront cost could deter potential players, especially those intrigued by the studio behind the iconic Halo 3 era. Bungie and Sony are evidently banking on their established brand reputation to drive initial player interest in Marathon. Whether brand loyalty will translate into sales in a competitive landscape remains to be seen.