Destiny players have taken to the Steam page for Bungie’s upcoming extraction shooter Marathon, leaving a wave of negative reviews as a form of protest. IGN reports that the review bombing campaign quickly gained traction, with users voicing a range of frustrations tied to the long-running looter shooter.
However, the move didn’t go unchallenged. A countercampaign from dedicated Bungie fans has already begun, with supporters posting positive reviews to push back against the negative scores and defend the developer’s new project. For more context, GamerHeadlines has also covered Destiny: Review Roundup and why they aren’t wrong Reviews Destiny.
The Review Bomb Campaign
Review bombing has become a common tactic for disgruntled players to signal discontent, and Marathon became the latest target as Destiny players expressed their dissatisfaction. The campaign primarily hit the game’s Steam page, where user reviews are publicly visible and can influence perception even before launch.
While no single grievance unites every negative review, much of the criticism appears aimed at Bungie’s resource allocation and perceived neglect of Destiny 2. Marathon, a sci-fi extraction shooter set in the same universe as Bungie’s classic Marathon series, has been positioned as the studio’s next major live-service bet, a move that has reportedly left some Destiny loyalists feeling sidelined.
Bungie Fans Fire Back
In response, Bungie fans quickly organized to counter the negative reviews with positive ones. The countercampaign, while smaller in scale, aims to balance the narrative and show support for the studio’s broader creative direction. Several positive reviews on the Steam page now explicitly mention that they are a reaction to the review bombing, urging others to judge the game on its own merits once it releases.
Why Marathon and Why Now?
Marathon is set to launch later this year, and its Steam page has been live for wishlisting since its announcement. The current review wave relies on users who have not actually played the game, a practice that Steam’s review system technically warns against but does not always filter out effectively. Valve has previously taken steps to mark “off-topic review activity” on store pages, but it’s unclear if the Marathon page will receive such treatment.
The tension comes at a sensitive time for Bungie. The studio has undergone multiple rounds of layoffs and refocused development priorities, with Sony’s backing adding pressure to deliver a hit. Destiny 2’s player counts have fluctuated, and expansions have drawn mixed responses. For some fans, Marathon represents an uncertain pivot away from the game they’ve invested thousands of hours into. For others, it’s a fresh opportunity that deserves a fair shot. You can read our original Destiny review to see how far the franchise has come since 2014.
GamerHeadlines Takeaway
Review bombing is nothing new on Steam, but the quick counterresponse shows that Bungie’s community is fractured, not universally disgruntled. While the negative reviews probably won’t sway Marathon’s ultimate success, they highlight a deeper conversation about how studios manage long-running service games while launching ambitious new projects. For now, the Steam page stands as a messy snapshot of that divide.
