- Primary Subject: Marathon PvE Content
- Key Update: Bungie is adding PvE modes to Marathon, starting with a limited-time Vault Breaker test.
- Status: analysis
- Last Verified: 2026-07-17
- Quick Answer: Bungie's decision to introduce PvE content into Marathon makes me question its strategy for attracting and retaining players, particularly those from Destiny 2.
Bungie needs to turn the Marathon ship around as fast as it can, and wouldn’t you know it, they’re resorting to PvE modes to attract the Destiny 2 audience they completely abandoned in favor of their shiny new extraction shooter.
Let me put you up to speed if you’re out of the loop. Bungie initially announced a quick public testing of Vault Breaker, a PvE mode where Solo or Duos can jump in and enjoy a stress-free experience without other human players bothering them. It’ll have some roguelite elements, with players taking on harder Vaults the more they progress.
This experimental mode will only run for a couple of weeks, starting on July 21 with the 1.1.5 update, ending on August 4.
After that, a follow-up report surfaced, stating that Bungie is preparing to make Vault Breaker, or at least some type of PvE content, a permanent staple of Marathon when Season 3 launches later, in September.
Now, in fairness, the mode does look interesting. It being a roguelite piques my interest, as Bungie’s gunplay is still top-notch, even if the overall gameplay loop in Marathon leaves a lot to be desired, especially if you come from previous Bungie titles.
My issue is, if we’re reverting to PvE — why even let Destiny die in the first place? No one anticipated that Bungie would take the decision to so unceremoniously pull the plug from the golden goose. One that led Sony to massively overpay to acquire the studio (a mere $3.6 billion).
The idea of Marathon was never going to blow up. It’s inherent to the genre; there’s a reason extraction shooters are niche, as they’re severely punishing for players, with the loop consisting of quite literally losing, potentially, everything you’ve grinded for in a long session. It’s made for those that relish the challenge of going up against other players knowing that a mistake can cost you a rare weapon you took dozens of hours to get. The flipside is that you can be the lucky player that ends up getting the jump on a much more experienced player and robbing them of their precious loot.
A PvE mode in this kind of environment just sounds rather dull after a few hours of play. Now look at what the studio had with Destiny. Sure, it had its fair share of troubles, but Bungie cultivated a passionate community, one that consistently responded when the devs needed their support. That pushed Destiny 2 to the top of Twitch viewership when a new raid launched.
It was, and still is, a game that emphasizes teamwork, featuring a very rewarding PvE loop. Chasing that perfect god roll for a specific type of weapon, a piece of gear you needed. The concept of raids is like something not even Bungie itself could topple with its version of Marathon, the Cryo Archive.
Bungie was too stubborn and too naive to think that Destiny 3 wouldn’t have helped the studio. Mistakes were made in the transition from the first game to Destiny 2. It was a clean slate that players dreaded, as we went from the (back then) peak of the franchise following The Taken King, to static rolls, barely any content, and a much more boring meta in Destiny 2’s infancy.
Maybe this is why they didn’t want to take the risk on a third entry; however, I can’t fathom that Bungie expected the plan post-The Final Shape to have any sort of success. The new bi-annual content drops were disastrous, and people quickly jumped off the bandwagon. It was clear The Final Shape was the end of the Light and Darkness saga — why not use this time to plan a fresh new entry in the series using all the concepts you sadly tossed away in minor expansions.
I’m still hopeful that a Destiny 3 can put things back on track for Bungie. Unfortunately, I don’t see it happening in the near future.
And that's it. Stick with us at Gfinityesports.com: your go-to source for all things Marathon.