Marathon players rip ‘worst value for your money’ battle pass, and they definitely have a point

Marathon's first day after launch is officially in the books, and it's a very mixed bag when it comes to a number of factors in Bungie's new live-service shooter. On Steam, it's got over 5,700 reviews and maintains a Very Positive rating, which is good. Elsewhere, the player count peaked yesterday at over 88,000 concurrents and has since dropped and stabilized at around 55,000 as of time of publishing, which is not great. Screenshot by Destructoid People who like the dark sci-fi extraction shooter seem to be really enjoying it, but it is absolutely a niche, hardcore PvP experience, and that most likely won't resonate with most casual players like another genre staple, ARC Raiders has. But even those who love it have taken issue with a main monetization point: Marathon's Rewards Pass. The Rewards Pass (season pass, battle pass, etc.) is mostly comprised of items like profile backgrounds, weapon stickers, weapon charms, and weapon skins, but there are also six total "Schema" rewards, which are basically vouchers to make a specific weapon appear in the Armory (shop where you buy gear). And, yeah, when browsing the Rewards Pass, it leaves a whole hell of a lot to be desired. It costs about $10, but even still, the kinds of rewards and even the amount of them are quite lackluster. There's only one character skin in the whole thing. "Please keep your greed limited, especially after we all paid a good amount of money for your game," one Redditor pleaded with Bungie. "This is not a F2P title, so you should offer a pass which is at least better and not worse." The biggest bugaboo in the Rewards Pass, though, is that there is no premium currency found within. Several games that offer seasonal passes (Call of Duty, Apex Legends, Overwatch, you name it) offer premium currency within them, so that if you save up, you can buy next season's pass or other items. Marathon does not do that, and so the value is seemingly not quite there, especially considering the types of rewards it does offer. Even Destiny 2, Bungie's other current title, has a much better pass. "The battle pass is horrible, especially after the [[i]ARC Raiders[/i]] and [[i]Helldivers 2[/i]] ones," another person said. "I hope people don't buy it so Bungie gets the message." Screenshot by Destructoid "Voting with your wallet is the only feedback they’ll actually hear," a player agreed. "If the value isn’t there, skipping it sends a clearer message than posts ever will." Marathon's in-game shop also offers character skins and bundles, and they're priced at around $15 (currently marked with "Savings" as they're supposedly normally priced at $20 or more). If the game is good and players enjoy it, I'm sure they will buy things. But the quality of this Rewards Pass sets a pretty rough precedent, and will likely need improvements if players are going to pay what amounts to a subscription fee every season. Because this first Rewards Pass was included with the Deluxe Edition of the game, and I can safely say I would not pay extra money towards another one if it looks like this. The post Marathon players rip ‘worst value for your money’ battle pass, and they definitely have a point appeared first on Destructoid.

Mar 7, 2026 - 03:45

Marathon players rip ‘worst value for your money’ battle pass, and they definitely have a point

Marathon's first day after launch is officially in the books, and it's a very mixed bag when it comes to a number of factors in Bungie's new live-service shooter.

On Steam, it's got over 5,700 reviews and maintains a Very Positive rating, which is good. Elsewhere, the player count peaked yesterday at over 88,000 concurrents and has since dropped and stabilized at around 55,000 as of time of publishing, which is not great.

Screenshot by Destructoid People who like the dark sci-fi extraction shooter seem to be really enjoying it, but it is absolutely a niche, hardcore PvP experience, and that most likely won't resonate with most casual players like another genre staple, ARC Raiders has. But even those who love it have taken issue with a main monetization point: Marathon's Rewards Pass.

The Rewards Pass (season pass, battle pass, etc.) is mostly comprised of items like profile backgrounds, weapon stickers, weapon charms, and weapon skins, but there are also six total "Schema" rewards, which are basically vouchers to make a specific weapon appear in the Armory (shop where you buy gear).

And, yeah, when browsing the Rewards Pass, it leaves a whole hell of a lot to be desired. It costs about $10, but even still, the kinds of rewards and even the amount of them are quite lackluster. There's only one character skin in the whole thing.

"Please keep your greed limited, especially after we all paid a good amount of money for your game," one Redditor pleaded with Bungie. "This is not a F2P title, so you should offer a pass which is at least better and not worse."

The biggest bugaboo in the Rewards Pass, though, is that there is no premium currency found within. Several games that offer seasonal passes (Call of Duty, Apex Legends, Overwatch, you name it) offer premium currency within them, so that if you save up, you can buy next season's pass or other items. Marathon does not do that, and so the value is seemingly not quite there, especially considering the types of rewards it does offer. Even Destiny 2, Bungie's other current title, has a much better pass.

"The battle pass is horrible, especially after the [[i]ARC Raiders[/i]] and [[i]Helldivers 2[/i]] ones," another person said. "I hope people don't buy it so Bungie gets the message."

Screenshot by Destructoid "Voting with your wallet is the only feedback they’ll actually hear," a player agreed. "If the value isn’t there, skipping it sends a clearer message than posts ever will."

Marathon's in-game shop also offers character skins and bundles, and they're priced at around $15 (currently marked with "Savings" as they're supposedly normally priced at $20 or more). If the game is good and players enjoy it, I'm sure they will buy things.

But the quality of this Rewards Pass sets a pretty rough precedent, and will likely need improvements if players are going to pay what amounts to a subscription fee every season. Because this first Rewards Pass was included with the Deluxe Edition of the game, and I can safely say I would not pay extra money towards another one if it looks like this.

The post Marathon players rip ‘worst value for your money’ battle pass, and they definitely have a point appeared first on Destructoid.

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