Marathon’s Update Sparks Backlash as Bungie Acknowledges Mistake

Bungie recently dropped its first major patch for the extraction shooter Marathon, and it stirred up quite a storm among players. A change to the audio of gunfire has seemingly transformed the game overnight, prompting a wave of reactions online. In response to the uproar, Bungie has acknowledged the misstep and is set to partially revert the controversial adjustment.

On March 11, Bungie released update 1.0.0.4, the first significant patch since Marathon’s launch on March 5 for consoles and PC. At first glance, the patch notes looked promising: more ammo in free loadout kits, improved objective markers, and a fix for a bug affecting Rook’s map. I even labeled the update as “basically perfect.” However, once I jumped into the game, I quickly realized that a seemingly minor change in the patch notes had drastically altered the gameplay experience.

The patch notes indicated that Bungie had “increased the range” at which players could hear gunfire and explosions. Initially, I brushed it off, but it turned out to have transformed the game into a chaotic, hyper-aggressive battleground. I wasn’t alone in this observation; others, including PC Gamer’s Morgan Park, noted the shift in gameplay. The Marathon subreddit was flooded with posts expressing confusion over the update, with players commenting on how they felt constantly under attack or likening the experience to a battle royale.

The outcry reached a point where Marathon’s audio director, Chase Combs, took to Twitter on Friday to acknowledge the feedback with a humorous nod, sharing a gif from Brooklyn 99. This sparked hope among players that the gunshot audio would be dialed back, and they were partially correct.

Later that day, Bungie confirmed it would be rolling back the audio change. Game director Joe Ziegler addressed the community via a post on the Marathon dev’s BlueSky account, explaining the rationale behind the change and the plan to rectify it.

“We aimed to provide more information through audio cues to help players make better decisions about their surroundings,” Ziegler stated. “However, we’ve heard your concerns and realize we may have gone too far. We’re looking to reduce the range in an upcoming patch to maintain some of the benefits while ensuring a more comfortable experience.”

In a follow-up post, the Marathon development team acknowledged the overcorrection and committed to adjusting the audio levels to enhance player experience without overwhelming them.

While I don’t think increasing gunshot volume was inherently a bad idea, it should have been implemented more gradually, especially after gathering more player data. Online games often rush to make changes, and I miss the days when updates were less frequent. Nevertheless, if updates are the norm, I fully support Bungie’s decision to tone down the gunfire so I’m not ambushed by multiple players just for taking out a turret.