Summary
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Marathon's relay as an extraction shooter did not reason with all fans, which led to a lukewarm reception.
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Arc Raiders, a competitor, has received positive attention for his extraction game, unlike Marathon.
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Bungie can face challenges due to IP's single player's history, where Arc Raiders will not come.
It is safe to say that MarathonRecently, did not reveal as well as Bungie had hoped; Now some fans look excitedly over the fence on rival shooter Bow raiders. By reviving a long dormant IP, Bungie made the bold decision to restart Marathon As an extraction shooter, inviting criticism from some long fans. Although not everyone has been shut down by the studio's new vision, it seems to lose steam with some others.
This would not be the first time a major developer missed the brand in this niche. Despite large player bills in a couple of titles, extraction shooting genre is a notoriously difficult to break into. Escape from Tarkov and Hunt: Showdown Have done very well for themselves, but many other challengers have flopped straight out of the gate. MarathonRocky reception seems to prove this rule, if not because there is occurrence of Bow raiders.

Family
Helldivers 2 and Bungie's Marathon can be two peas in a pod
Marathon is intended to give players a unique extraction shooter, and it may prove to be a good alternative for fans of Helldivers 2.
Arc Raiders get momentum where marathon stumbled
Developed using veteran Battlefield talent, Bow raiders Is an extraction shooter from Embark Studios. In spite of the developer release The final At the end of last year, Bow raiders have actually been under development anymore, but The final'Less extent meant it was clear in the past. Develop ARC continued silently for several years and went from PVE Looter with PVP elements to a complete extraction game, and the latest game testers have suddenly received significant attention on ARC For some rather positive reasons.
It is difficult to ignore all similarities that ARCThe development history shares with MarathonBut the answer to both could not be more different. Where ARCS shift from pve to pvp has been praised, MarathonS has caused some confusion, with many players who admired the game's extremely powerful aesthetics, but remains uninterested in the extraction game. MarathonAlpha Playtest saw thousands of players register, but the game figures decreased unexpectedly quickly, and feedback around it has suggested that the game may need to be delayed.
Part of the frustration seems to come from the fact that Marathon is an old IP that has reused something new, which is a problem that ARC Don't have. Although the design may have shifted from its original goals, people play the latest Bow raiders Playtest jumped into its world for the first time, with few expectations. It helps it too ARC Stays closer to a more traditional style of extraction shooter, including a home base and closeness, a function that Bungie has pulled his feet over for fear of toxicity.
Bungie has announced some changes for her next alpha, including inactivating AIM assistant on PC, so many features can be changed between every now and then.
Embark's background is similar to Bungies, as each developer has experience of developing very popular shooters, and both are now making extraction games at the same time. Maybe that's how every studio goes the line, as many fans have said they would like to see Marathon Be revived, just not in this form. Bungie has probably spent a lot of money on developing and marketing her new game so far and released the incredibly well received Marathon Cinematic short film, which means it is essentially impossible to go back in the game design. Reverse awareness of Bow raiders has been driven a lot of oral words, which proves that there is still excitement for new extraction shooters.
It's still early days yet, but Bow raiders Could not come out for a worse time for Bungie, as it is difficult not to make comparisons between the two. Bungie has already taken out dates for the future Marathon Playtests, and player feedback from the first round have suggested that it felt very “alpha”, so there are all chances that the next test will look very different. The stumble at the first obstacle has characterized Bungie for a long time, with both Destiny 1 and 2 Having very shaky launches, just to be great success later. But the glowing reception to Bow raiders throws a very long shade, one that will not be easy for Marathon to escape.

Bow raiders
- Published
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2025
- Engine
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Unreal Engine 5
- PC drop date
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2025
- Xbox Series X | S release date
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2025
- PS5 release date
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2025