Bungie Bosses Promise to ‘Evolve’ Marathon, Deny Game Will ‘Replace’ Destiny

Bungie Studio Head Poria Torkan, alongside the Head of Product and GM of Marathon, Josh Dean, revealed plans to “evolve” Marathon as Bungie continues to navigate big internal changes.

In a September 21 video message to fans, Torkan and Dean addressed what’s next for Marathon, saying the game is an “important part” of shaping where Bungie goes next.

"It didn’t reach as many players as we’d hoped,” Torkan admitted. “But we also know and understand that the game needs to evolve.”

“We’re gonna anchor on what makes Marathon special and evolve it beyond the genre constraints that we’ve placed on it. We’re going to expand Marathon into a deeper survival experience that gives players more ways to take on its dangerous alien world,” Dean continued.

He outlined the team's goal for Marathon by the end of year one, saying that Bungie hopes to "preserve what you already love, but find ways to provide players with more agency in how you play, whether in PvE or PvP."

This news follows Bungie's plans to delay Marathon's next big update from late September to December. In a blog post published at the same time as Torkan and Dean's video message, Bungie reiterated that it "still [has] a lot planned for [its] October Nightfall Refresh and Symbiosis update in December." It also promised that players will get more Marathon news "later this week" regarding their vision for the future of the game.

— Bungie (@Bungie) September 21, 2026

Marathon had a rough start since its launch in March; while it received critical acclaim upon release, according to data from SteamsCharts, it currently boasts around 1,390 active players, with a peak of just 2,630 in the last 24 hours. This is merely a small slice of Destiny 2's comparatively massive playerbase, and it seems the team at Bungie has taken notice of this, given its renewed efforts to reshape the game.

Perhaps most importantly, the two also confirmed that no, Marathon is not replacing Destiny, which had its own exciting announcements from the duo in that same video. Players, rejoice; there are "more stories to tell" in the Destiny universe, and Bungie wants to return the series to "its original promise" of "awe-inspiring mystery, the sense of discovery, and the promise of a community of Guardians rallying together, raging against impossible odds."

This comes as welcome news for Destiny fans, as Bungie infamously shuttered future content updates for Destiny 2 in May. The announcement didn't go over well, leaving players equal parts confused and distraught — but it seems the developer has decided against abandoning the IP in the wake of this strong community response.

This double-whammy of exciting announcements comes after major shifts for Bungie over the last few months. PlayStation CEO Herman Hulst confirmed "significant" layoffs for the studio in June, which included "most of the Destiny team and some Marathon team members." The developer also revealed plans to sublease a significant portion of its massive campus in Bellevue, Washington earlier this month.

With its renewed focus on Destiny and a sharper look at the future of Marathon, Bungie appears to be entering a new, exciting era, and fans can't wait to see what it's cooking up next.