Bungie is fixing Marathon's worst microtransaction sin

Bungie has addressed the backlash to Marathon microtransactions and its rewards pass, correcting for a particularly egregious price point on runner skins against the cost of its premium currency bundles. In a new update, the developer also discusses its plans to ensure players feel that the MTX on offer are “great value.” It also has a few early previews of gameplay changes that are coming to the extraction shooter, with easier-to-spot objectives, additional supply points, and more ammo from its emergency packages.

Now we’ve had some time to settle in on Tau Ceti, the discussion around Marathon has begun to turn to how you can make yourself look good. On top of its $40 asking price, Bungie already has a wide range of paid-for cosmetics that you can get your hands on in the multiplayer game through direct purchases or its rewards pass. These use a premium currency called Lux, which is bought for real money, and there are no gameplay-impacting items for sale, only ways to up your fashion game.

The pricing in general has come under fire from some players, although what’s here is fairly in line with many other modern games, for better or worse. Marathon’s runner skins commit a particularly frustrating sin, however. They’re priced at 1,120 in the catalog, but the $10 / £8 bundle gives you just 1,100 yen, leaving you 20 short. This is one of my biggest gripes with premium currency models, where you can’t buy the exact amount you need in one go, and must stump up for a bigger bundle that will leave you with some left over, burning a hole in your digital wallet.

Fortunately, Bungie has now corrected this. It writes that, “in the near future,” the $10 / £8 Lux bundle will be adjusted to instead grant 1,120 Lux, and that anyone who has already bought this particular amount will be credited with the difference based on the number of packs they purchased. Problem solved. Now you just have to decide whether that skin you want is worth the price being asked, without the need to do any mental math.

“In addition to this, we’ve seen the rest of your feedback about Marathon’s purchasable cosmetics,” the developer continues. “We want to ensure that when you spend in Marathon you feel like you are getting great value and discussing ways to improve this experience.”

Bungie also details some of the initial changes it has on the books for the first full update, which it’s planning to deploy next week. Objective nav points will now appear when you are 20 meters away, double the current distance, making them easier to track. The number of Med Cabinets and Munitions Crates on Perimeter is being ramped up, and you’ll be given more starting ammo when you claim the free Sponsored Kit care packages. This applies across the MIDA, CyberAcme, and Arachne variants.

Bungie has also been working through its list of other issues, such as continued reports of ‘Weasel’ error codes. “We believe we have been able to mitigate some of these but want to ensure we’re being as thorough as possible,” it says. If you’ve run into this or other problems, it asks that you let the team know via the official Marathon Discord server.

If you bought the Marathon Deluxe Edition and didn’t receive your items, they should now be available, and any impacted players will be granted 150 Lux as a make-good. Server Slam rewards have been re-sent to anyone that missed them or accidentally deleted the message, and Bungie says its Twitch Drops are “continuing to roll out,” so hold tight if they’ve yet to land in your mailbox. Finally, it notes that Lux purchases should no longer be affected by a delay after you pay for them, but that you should contact the team if this continues to occur.