Bungie Shuts Down Destiny and Marathon Merger Rumors, Confirms Free December and March 2027 Updates for Marathon

Bungie has officially denied a rumor that it planned to merge the Destiny and Marathon franchises, addressing ongoing speculation about the future of both series.

The rumor, which circulated online this week, suggested that Bungie was testing a rework to combine Marathon and Destiny into a single IP. However, Marathon creative director Julia Nardin set the record straight.

"As someone who's worked on both Destiny and Marathon, I can confirm that the 'leak' about us merging the two IPs is fake," Nardin said in a post on Twitter/X. "They share a lot of the same Bungie DNA, but like siblings, they're also their own independent entities. Please don't believe everything you read online."

It's been a turbulent period for Bungie, Destiny, and Marathon. Marathon originally launched as an ultra-hardcore extraction shooter, but Bungie has been reworking it to play more like Destiny as the game has struggled to retain players. Meanwhile, Bungie halted work on Destiny 2 to focus on Marathon, upsetting Destiny fans in the process. Livestreams from Bungie's parent company, Sony Interactive Entertainment, have been flooded with calls for Bungie to return to the world of Destiny, either to continue Destiny 2 or work on Destiny 3.

This week, Bungie announced a shift away from seasonal content, a focus on PvE, and a significant delay for Marathon's next update. It was slated to release on September 22, but will now arrive on December 8. A further major update will be released in March. On October 6, Marathon will get a smaller update that resets progression and the in-game economy to prepare for an overhaul.

In a social media follow-up, Bungie clarified that the December and March updates are free, not paid DLC. "If you own Marathon, the December and March updates will be available at no additional cost," the studio said. "That includes gameplay content such as new zones, weapons, and Runners."

Which begs the question: why issue this clarification? Some believe it suggests a move to free-to-play supported by paid expansions, and these updates should not be confused with expansion-type content. However, Bungie hasn't announced any expansions for Marathon. Perhaps the plan is for different editions of Marathon, some paid, that would sit alongside a free offering. These might offer different tiers of content, allowing players to pick and choose.

The specter in all this is of course Sony's ongoing commitment to Marathon. It backed the game publicly, but some fans are worried about its future. Steam concurrents do not paint the full picture of a multiplatform game, but it's worth noting that Marathon had a 24-hour peak of 2,464 on Valve's platform, down from an all-time peak of 77,358 set when the game launched in March.