During Bungie’s recent stream showcasing early clips of their latest endeavor, a first-person extraction shooter named Marathon, a wave of skepticism swept through social media and Reddit. Some voices went as far as to predict that Marathon would meet the same unfortunate end as Concord, a hero shooter by Sony, which was pulled from circulation less than a month post-launch. In a bid to counter this narrative, a former developer from Concord took to the Marathon subreddit and urged the community to give the game a fair chance.
Reflecting on the past, the developer known on Reddit as MrSpug shared, “Concord didn’t resonate with players, and we got that message loud and clear. Witnessing our project flop and become a punchline online was gut-wrenching.”
Previously with Firewalk Studios until Sony closed its doors a few months after Concord’s demise, the developer expressed empathy towards Bungie’s team for their dedication to Marathon. They acknowledged the challenging landscape of this competitive genre and lauded the team for their bold efforts.
Sharing their personal experience, the developer candidly admitted, “I worked hard on Concord and gave it my all. We fell short, but please, don’t judge another project based on past failures.”
Although Concord and Marathon differ in their gameplay style, both games share the same publisher, Sony. A significant point of contention from the Marathon stream was Bungie’s choice not to adopt the free-to-play model. Marathon, much like Concord, will be priced more modestly than most new releases. Bungie hinted that the game’s cost would land below the “full-priced” bracket, likely around $40 when it launches in September. Despite the lower price tag, some critics wonder if Marathon’s fate could parallel Concord’s.
In a follow-up comment, the former Concord developer addressed their reluctance to overshadow others with their critique, stating, “I didn’t intend to be ‘that’ developer drawing attention to myself. But labeling a game a failure before it even sees the light of day seems wild to me.”
