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In the heat of a match, Marathon can feel fantastic even if you don’t know the logistics. Bungie’s trademark gunplay is still sharp, and the extraction loop has the potential to keep players hooked for hours. But outside those moments, cracks have already been appearing, threatening the very foundation of the title. None of these problems are impossible to fix, but if they continue to linger, they could slowly bleed away the player base. As Marathon is the newest game in the extraction genre, Bungie needs to deal with the following problems as soon as possible, or the game will capsize.
New Players Are Struggling Without a Safety Net
Jumping into Marathon as a new player can feel like being thrown into a battlefield with no armor. Extraction shooters are already known for their high stakes, but Marathon often demands that newcomers learn everything while under relentless pressure. The game has a lot for someone new to take in, with loot being one of the most significant aspects to understand. Maps, mechanics, and combat rhythms also take time to understand, yet the game rarely offers a safe space where new players can actually learn them.
Those early hours are critical, and right now, they are where Marathon risks losing people the fastest. When a player’s first few matches turn into a cycle of confusion, lost gear, and quick eliminations, the experience stops feeling challenging and starts feeling hopeless. Quests are a major progression point, yet many of them are designed to be very challenging early on, largely due to the PvPvE aspect. Many players will not push through that wall long enough to discover the depth hiding underneath the surface. In today’s competitive multiplayer landscape, most players simply move on when the opening hours feel punishing instead of rewarding.
This problem becomes even more dangerous when Marathon is compared to competitors like Arc Raiders. Games that guide new players more carefully are far better at building confidence early on, which helps turn curious newcomers into long-term players. Without a stronger onboarding experience or some kind of early safety net, Marathon risks creating a revolving door where new players arrive, struggle briefly, and then disappear just as quickly. Even something as simple as adding a safety pocket for loot, would do much to change this.
Limited Customization Is Driving Engagement Down
Customization may seem like a smaller issue on the surface, but in modern multiplayer games, it is one of the systems that keeps players emotionally invested. Players want to look and feel cool. They want their character to represent their time, their effort, and their identity inside the game. It’s why customization in games is so common in today’s industry. When that system works well, it creates a powerful sense of ownership that keeps players coming back long after the novelty of the gameplay has worn off.
Right now, Marathon’s Runner customization feels too thin to serve that role. While there are options available, they feel limited and restrained, leaving players with fewer ways to shape their characters into something personal. Over time, that lack of depth becomes increasingly noticeable as more players begin to look similar across matches. Even with the currently available stuff, there’s not all that much variety to looks, which Bungie is sleeping on the importance of. This is rather ironic considering Destiny 2 is known for its extensive list of cosmetic options.
