After Destiny 2 Updates End, Bungie’s Push for Marathon Sparks Backlash

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Destiny 2 has now received its final content update, bringing its long-running live-service run to an end even as the servers stay online. The update has sharpened an existing split among players, especially as comparisons with Marathon on Steam continue, after former Bungie community manager Liana Ruppert argued publicly that the studio was already near a financial breaking point before its Sony acquisition. In her view, the deal was effectively an “emergency takeover,” and Marathon has become a test of whether Bungie can sustain itself and fund future projects.

Destiny 2 is not being shut down, but it is no longer getting new content, marking the end of its expansion cycle. For many longtime players, the disappointment is obvious. They would rather have seen Bungie continue supporting Destiny 2, or move directly toward Destiny 3, instead of shifting focus to a new game.

Bungie’s strengths help explain that reaction. The studio’s weapon feel and class design are a big part of why so many players are reluctant to let the Destiny series go. Destiny 2 was never a hardcore military simulator, but its shooting feedback, ability rhythm, and co-op dungeon play gave it a combat identity players could recognize instantly for years. Because that foundation was so solid, players are especially wary of any suggestion that one game’s end is supposed to push their loyalty and nostalgia toward another.

Ruppert’s point is blunt. She says Sony’s acquisition was closer to an “emergency takeover” than a routine deal, and that without it, the real question would not have been how to run Destiny 2, but whether Bungie could continue to exist at all. She also stressed that Marathon is an extraction shooter, not a game aimed at the same audience as Destiny 2, so comparing their Steam performance side by side is, in her view, a misleading comparison. At a business level, the argument makes sense: extraction shooters are built for a smaller but potentially more stable core audience.

Still, the pushback from players is easy to understand. The clearest pushback from players is that nobody is obligated to treat buying Marathon as crowdfunding for Destiny 3. That is not an extreme stance; it is how players usually respond. Players judge the product in front of them, not the studio’s circumstances. If Marathon lacks appeal on its own terms, asking people to support it simply to keep Bungie alive is not much of a selling point.

That is the real test Bungie faces now. The issue is not whether it can sell a comeback story, but whether Marathon can prove it has lasting appeal on its own. If it only benefits from attention created by Destiny 2 winding down, the argument remains weak. If it can establish stable retention in the extraction-shooter space, then Bungie may actually have a new foundation to build on. For players still undecided, the standard is clear: judge the game on its core loop first, then on the quality of its long-term support, rather than paying in advance for the studio’s history or the possibility of Destiny 3.