Bungie’s Marathon is out now, which means players can finally see how its microtransactions actually work and, crucially, how much everything costs.
The $40 extraction shooter is monetized in a number of ways, including via a premium battle pass and direct microtransactions for cosmetic items, such as playable character skins. As Bungie had signalled before Marathon went live, gameplay-affecting items are not available to buy, only cosmetics.
Still, some players have responded negatively to Marathon’s monetization, criticizing the price of the skins and the digital sales tactics Bungie has in place.
Straight off the bat, on launch day, Marathon has $15 cosmetic packs (they cost 1,500 Lux, Marathon’s premium virtual currency). These packs include a runner skin, a weapon skin, a cosmetic trinket of some type, and a player banner and profile pic. Runner skins are sold separately for around $12’s worth of Lux.
This alone has irked some who believe that Marathon, as a $40 game, should not be monetized in a similar fashion to free-to-play shooters like Fortnite or Apex Legends. Others, however, are unsurprised by these cosmetic packs, and have pointed out that they’re more expensive in other premium games, such as the more expensive mainline Call of Duty games.
But what has caused more of a stink is the denominations of Lux available in the store. A runner skin costs 1,120 Lux, but of course you can’t buy 1,120 Lux exactly from the store. Instead, you have to spend $10 to get 1,100 Lux (just 20 Lux shy of what you need), and then another $5 to get 500 Lux on top, which in total dollar terms matches the same price as the $15 bundle.
