{"id":1694305,"date":"2026-09-16T20:20:16","date_gmt":"2026-09-16T20:20:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/BLBuvUwMGMw6XXSD7FD9bb"},"modified":"2026-09-16T20:20:16","modified_gmt":"2026-09-16T20:20:16","slug":"marathon-creative-director-shoots-down-rumored-merge-with-destiny-2-please-dont-believe-everything-you-read-online","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/marathon-creative-director-shoots-down-rumored-merge-with-destiny-2-please-dont-believe-everything-you-read-online\/","title":{"rendered":"Marathon creative director shoots down rumored merge with Destiny 2: ‘Please don’t believe everything you read online’"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Have you heard the rumor that Bungie is looking to somehow merge Destiny<\/a> and Marathon<\/a> into a single series? I’ll admit that I hadn’t, until Marathon creative director Julia Nardin took to X<\/a> <\/a>to say flat-out that it’s not true.<\/p>\n

“As someone who’s worked on both Destiny and Marathon, I can confirm that the ‘leak’ about us merging the two IPs is fake,” Nardin wrote. “They share a lot of the same Bungie DNA, but like siblings they’re also their own independent entities. Please don’t believe everything you read online.”<\/p>\n

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\"As<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>

(Image credit: Julia Nardin (Twitter))<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Nardin should know: Prior to taking up the creative director mantle on Marathon earlier this year, she worked on the narrative for multiple Destiny 2 expansions<\/a>, and served as associate narrative director on the free-to-play mobile shooter Destiny: Rising. Nardin’s message was also reposted by Bungie comms lead Dylan Gafner, better known to the community as dmg04<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The message appeared to be in response to a lengthy “leaks” post on 4chan, subsequently posted on the Marathon subreddit<\/a>, which makes claims ranging from basic gameplay changes to a move to a free to play\u2014and, of course, the merge: “There has been some vague testing the waters internally to rework Marathon and Destiny into a single IP with Marathon representing the beginning of Mankind’s Golden Age and to foreshadow more threats to be used in a future Destiny project.”<\/p>\n

I suppose that would be workable\u2014it’s not too much of a chore to mash up disparate properties via the passage of time and weird shit<\/em> happening in the background\u2014but the obvious question is, why would Bungie bother? What’s the payoff? <\/p>\n

Lots of Destiny 2 fans are unhappy that their favorite game has reached its end, but I don’t think they’re suddenly going to come trucking to Marathon because of some meaningless narrative twist. And that’s Bungie’s real problem: Marathon numbers are sagging badly and efforts to turn that around haven’t gone anywhere. <\/p>\n

That’s a concern with caveats because Marathon, unlike Destiny 2, isn’t free to play, but Bungie’s been going hard since the game’s launch to find its footing: With the Destiny 2 team gone<\/a> and no new projects imminent<\/a>, Bungie needs Marathon to work. The studio recently delayed<\/a> the game’s planned September content update into December, preceded by a smaller seasonal refresh in October, and also abandoned its “strict seasonal schedule,” as part of its plan to turn Marathon “into a more alien <\/em>and dynamic survival experience.” <\/p>\n

Relentless optimists may note that Nardin didn’t address any of the other leaks in her post: The free-to-play transition, for instance, or that K-pop crossover skins are happening. And who knows? Maybe some of the predictions it makes will come true. Personally, though, I think Nardin’s final bit of advice is good: Don’t believe everything you read on the internet. (And my own personal addendum: especially if it comes from 4chan.)<\/p>\n

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