The news that Bungie would wind down Destiny 2 with a final content drop this June ignited a firestorm on Steam, with angry players flooding the Marathon page with negative reviews to protest the developer's shift in focus. What began as isolated complaints has escalated into an organized campaign, complete with a coordinated response from Marathon's own community defending the extraction shooter.
Destiny players have made their grievances unmistakable. One widely shared negative review summed up the sentiment: "You killed my favorite game for this. My only regret was supporting this trash in the hope that Destiny would continue. RIP D2." Many reviewers openly blamed Marathon for Destiny's apparent demise after 12 years, with play times ranging from under an hour to roughly 50 hours, suggesting these are frustrated Destiny fans rather than seasoned Marathon players.
The volume tells the story. On May 22 alone, Marathon received 531 reviews, with 374 positive and 157 negative. The day before Bungie's announcement, the game had drawn only 49 positive reviews and six negative ones. That represents a dramatic spike in negative sentiment concentrated around the Destiny announcement.
But Marathon's community mobilized just as quickly. A coordinated countercampaign of positive reviews flooded the platform, with Marathon fans rallying on Reddit to push back against what they viewed as unfair targeting. One popular Reddit post called for supporters to leave positive reviews before the Destiny wave hit, predicting exactly what would unfold.
The debate revealed deep divisions even within the hardcore Destiny fanbase. Some Reddit users argued that Marathon's survival might be the only path to Destiny 3, creating a perverse incentive structure where Destiny fans should actually support the game they blame for killing their favorite franchise. Others expressed frustration with what they saw as toxic behavior from jilted players.
Marathon launched in March 2026 to strong critical acclaim, with IGN awarding it a 9/10. Despite that positive reception, the game apparently underperformed commercially against expectations. Bungie has pledged to continue developing the title, with promises of additional PvE content and longer-term story plans still in the works.
The review-bombing reflects a larger pattern on Steam, where disgruntled communities use negative reviews as a pressure tactic against developers, hoping visibility will force recognition of their concerns. Bungie's situation is particularly acute because Marathon exists in direct resource competition with a beloved franchise that built the studio's reputation.
Destiny 2's swan song arrives this June with no Destiny 3 announced, leaving the 12-year-old series suspended indefinitely while Bungie places its bets on Marathon's future.
Author Emily Chen: "Marathon players mobilizing to counter-review-bomb their own game is peak gaming drama, but it also exposes how precarious Bungie's bet on the new franchise really is."
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