Marathon Upgrade Confusion Gives Some Players a Free Game

Bungie is finally smoothing out the rough edges that plagued Marathon’s Season 2 launch week.

In a move that has already sparked relief among frustrated players, the studio announced it will extend the free‑to‑play window by a few extra days and, more importantly, will grant the game at no cost to anyone who purchased the Deluxe Edition during the discounted period.

This controversy began when a user named Wario64 circulated a screenshot suggesting that Marathon’s full $60 version could be snapped up for just $14. Because the base game was free for the first week of Season 2, which kicked off on June 2, the PlayStation Store listed the Deluxe Edition at a reduced price of $14. Since the Deluxe bundle includes the base game, many gamers mistakenly believed they had uncovered a loophole to acquire the title at a steep discount.

It turned out that the PlayStation Store had inadvertently allowed players to buy the Deluxe Edition at a lowered price if they added Marathon to their library during Open Play Week. Bungie has now corrected the store’s wording, making it clear that the base game will still require an additional $40 purchase once the free period ends.

However, players who had already bought the Deluxe Edition and were about to be locked out of the title were not satisfied. To resolve the issue, Bungie confirmed it will simply provide those customers with Marathon for free.

In a recent announcement on June 5, the studio revealed that those who purchased Marathon before the update on the store page will receive the base edition of the game for free, alongside the Deluxe Edition content. Further details regarding the timeline will be shared soon.

Additionally, for those who downloaded Marathon during the Open Play Week but did not purchase it, purchasing the Deluxe Edition upgrade will only provide access to the Deluxe Edition content until the end of the Open Play Week.

For everyone else, the free-to-play period for Marathon has been extended until June 11. The extension comes as a result of server issues that occurred on the game’s launch day for season 2. Any progress made during this free period will carry over to the paid version of the game.