Concord Developer Urges Confidence in Marathon Despite Concord’s Setbacks

Bungie’s recent Marathon stream stirred up quite a buzz, with its sneak peek at the first-person extraction shooter drawing a mixed bag of reactions online and on Reddit. Some folks have been quick to speculate that this game might follow the same rocky path as Concord, Sony’s hero shooter that went offline just a month after its launch. These discussions led a former developer from Concord to jump onto the Marathon subreddit, urging the community to keep an open mind.

The developer, known on Reddit as MrSpug, shared some personal insights, saying, “Concord didn’t quite hit the mark, and we got the message loud and clear. It was heart-breaking to see our hard work become the butt of jokes online.” Having worked with Firewalk Studios, which Sony closed shortly after Concord was pulled, the developer expressed empathy for the Bungie team. “I feel for the Bungie folks who poured their energy into Marathon. I respect them for daring to dive into such a cutthroat arena.”

Reflecting on their own journey, they admitted, “I put everything into Concord, but things didn’t pan out. It’s not fair to drag others down for the hurdles we faced.” Although Concord and Marathon are separate entities, they’re both under Sony’s wing. This connection has sparked some debate, particularly regarding Bungie’s decision not to adopt a free-to-play model for Marathon. Instead, the game will be priced below the standard new release, likely landing around $40 when it launches in September. This pricing choice has left some wondering if Marathon might end up sharing Concord’s fate.

In response to the conversations swirling around the subreddit, the former Concord developer added, “I didn’t intend to step into the spotlight like some sort of spokesperson. But labeling a game as a flop before it even sees the light of day feels completely off the mark to me.”