“Extraction is Still a Major Part of Marathon” – Marathon Game Director Reassures Fans Main Game Mode Isn’t Going Anywhere

Just last week, Marathon’s developers laid out a new roadmap for the game that’d bring PvE and deathmatch modes to the game, but now Game Director Del Chafe has reassured fans that the extraction mode will not be sunsetted.

When Bungie revealed the roadmap last week, some people were worried that the more hardcore extraction mode would be neglected in favor of the new modes, especially after the developer admitted that Marathon flopped because it was too hard. But, using the Marathon Development Team Twitter account, Chafe reassured folks, saying “We want to be clear, Extraction is still a major part of Marathon, and we’re also going to continue updating it as we look to the future of the game.”

Hey everyone, Del here.

Last week we had a great time talking about the upcoming PvE and experimental PvP modes for Symbiosis in December. We want to be clear, Extraction is still a major part of Marathon, and we’re also going to continue updating it as we look to the future…

— Marathon Development Team (@MarathonDevTeam) September 30, 2026

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Chafe also asked fans for feedback, saying “We’d love to hear from you on what you’re enjoying about Extraction today, what you think needs work, and what you wish was there.” Of course, Marathon fans obliged.

Marathon streamer Drewsky replied, saying that the among the main problems facing the extraction mode are spawn rushes and harsh death spirals that price players out. User nsorrey36 echoed Drewsky, saying “Echoing a lot of sentiment where it feels like lobby wiping is the go-to strategy of the run.”

It seems like the perfect solution to Marathon’s problems would be to introduce the new game modes coming in the Symbiosis update, while also finding a way to incentivize extraction players to not immediately start running for spawn points in the hopes of catching someone off guard. Luckily, it sounds like Bungie is taking any and all community feedback to heart, so there’s actually a chance that extraction will look a lot different in a year.

All of these changes for Marathon are happening at the same time that Bungie is working on bringing Destiny back. The developer reassured gamers earlier this month that it wasn’t done with Destiny, and is working on bringing back vaulted Destiny 2 content.

Jackie Thomas is the Senior Tech Editor at IGN and the PC components queen. She’s been covering gaming hardware for more than a decade for IGN, TechRadar, Gizmodo, PC Gamer and more. You can follow her @Jackiecobra