Former Concord Developer Defends Bungie's Marathon After Mixed Reception

Marathon, the upcoming extraction shooter from Bungie, received mixed reactions after its official gameplay reveal on April 12. Some players have already labeled it "Concord 2.0," comparing it to Sony's failed hero shooter that shut down after just 10 days due to low player counts.

In response to these early criticisms, Stephan Williams, a former artist who worked on Concord, took to Reddit to defend Marathon and share insights from his experience with a failed game launch.

"I really didn't want to be 'that' dev, calling attention to myself as if I have a horse in this fight. But to call this game a failure before it's even out, is wild to me," Williams commented in the Reddit thread.

The gameplay reveal for Marathon sparked divided opinions among gamers. While many praised the science fiction art style, others expressed concerns about its gameplay and whether it would attract a large audience. Additional criticisms focused on Marathon not being free-to-play and lacking features like proximity chat, which some players consider essential for the extraction shooter genre.

Williams shared how devastating it was to see Concord fail so publicly. "It was gut-wrenching to see our project fail, and be the laughing stock of many online," he wrote in his post. "No one feels as bad as the people who put their time on the line, hoping it will entertain the masses of gamers across the globe."

He emphasized that game development involves significant risk, especially when studios venture outside their comfort zones. According to Williams, Bungie deserves credit for taking on something new and different from their established franchises like Halo and Destiny.

"I commend them for taking a chance, trying something foreign to them, that isn't proven, nor guaranteed to succeed. It takes a lot of courage," Williams noted, appealing to the gaming community to be more understanding of the human element behind game development.

The former Firewalk developer also asked players not to rush to judgment before even trying the game. "We came up short, please don't punish others for our mistakes. We are all human beings who are trying to create something special, and Marathon is no different," he wrote, encouraging gamers to approach new titles with an open mind.

Despite the early criticism, Marathon's true reception remains to be determined until players can experience it firsthand when it launches on September 23. Those interested in trying the game early can participate in the Closed Alpha Test scheduled for April 23.