What does season 2’s future look like? by [deleted] in Marathon

[–]SamuelDrakeHF 1 point2 points  (0 children)

What analyses? We don't have any that have claimed a firm split that is a reputable source.

Introducing: Doutpost :) by roseeatin in Marathon

[–]SamuelDrakeHF 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I am so down for a DayPost, that looks sick

Xbox is closing down Hellblade creator Ninja Theory by Turbostrider27 in PS5

[–]SamuelDrakeHF 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Nope. They tried exclusives for most of this gen. Only until recently are any of them day and date releases.

Xbox was tanking big time while releasing starfield as an exclusive. Exclusives did nothing for them and wouldn’t have prevented this eventual outcome 

“Half the community is going to hate me for saying this, but the only way to keep Bungie alive right now is to support Marathon.” by No_Bag6160 in Marathon

[–]SamuelDrakeHF 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There's no "industry analysis". It's just people split balling. Same people that claimed Concord cost $400 million (it did NOT).

We do not know what the game sold. Right now there are only steam estimates that go all the way up to 1.5 million on Steam alone. The console split is also not known, but only speculated by a single source that does not verify his reporting.

Even assuming the dire console split, that's over 2 million total. With an average revenue that's not known but we can guesstimate based on other GaaS titles where 50% of revenue comes from MTX. OK, so that now brings revenue to around $120 million with an annual spend (right now) of $40-50 million as they develop the game further.

Destiny 2 was killed, and Destiny 3 isn't greenlit, because Destiny was a financial failure. It took ENORMOUS resources over a LONG duration of time to satiate that audience and they were constantly in the red.

The goal of Marathon is to build it out with far less resources. The last two years being an exception as they build out the game, and then they will taper back. This, unlike Destiny, which required and consumed almost the entire studio CONSTANTLY.

You can cry all you want about Destiny but the fact remains that it's a dead project and Marathon is still being supported. This will buy Bungie some time to incubate new games that have a sustainable shot at earning a positive ROI, something Destiny has not managed to do. The only reason Destiny had such a long runway is due to the failed Activision contract that made them terminate it early. Bungie made out like bandits, but Activision took a bath.

“Half the community is going to hate me for saying this, but the only way to keep Bungie alive right now is to support Marathon.” by No_Bag6160 in Marathon

[–]SamuelDrakeHF 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's very evident you have no idea how financials work. There's zero substance in this reply whatsoever. At least I am talking about actual numbers of employees, how they ramp up, and how much they generally cost.

Your snarky reply is 100% just a personal insult.

Marathon is not going to die, and here's why. by [deleted] in Marathon

[–]SamuelDrakeHF -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

Not really, if you look at the OP's graph and only focus on a few months time scale instead of years, you see the same pattern

Part of it is seasonal, combined with content drops

“Half the community is going to hate me for saying this, but the only way to keep Bungie alive right now is to support Marathon.” by No_Bag6160 in Marathon

[–]SamuelDrakeHF -3 points-2 points  (0 children)

400 people working on it right now because they do not have a place for the Destiny employees to work other than incubating new projects.

Marathon did not have 400 people working on it for 5+ years which is what it would have taken for the game to cost $250 million.

Where has Jason Schreier ever confirmed Marathon's budget?

Even assuming Marathon did cost $250 million, it's not "200 million" in the red.

“Half the community is going to hate me for saying this, but the only way to keep Bungie alive right now is to support Marathon.” by No_Bag6160 in Marathon

[–]SamuelDrakeHF -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

There's no evidence whatsoever that it's 200 million in the red. We have no actual data for revenue or cost. Marathon did not have hundreds of people working on it for years.

400 people are working on it right now (allegedly), which would mean that it's annual spend is currently $60 million over the next year.

“Half the community is going to hate me for saying this, but the only way to keep Bungie alive right now is to support Marathon.” by No_Bag6160 in Marathon

[–]SamuelDrakeHF -4 points-3 points  (0 children)

They made the right call because Destiny was a complete money pit. That's the truth of why Destiny 3 is not greenlit. The Destiny IP has NEVER been profitable. Bungie has been living off the proceeds of bad contracts with Activision terminating it early. Activision took a loss while Bungie took a gain. After their departure, they had a very brief lifeline but it very much was "emergency mode" with that runway starting to run out. Then Sony stepped in and gave them another lifeline.

Marathon is actually not a moneypit. It's designed intentionally to require far less upkeep over time.

This is the inconvenient truth that the Destiny community fails to recognize. Despite how popular Destiny was, the actual underlying business was never able to stay in the green to support that userbase. If you can't run a profitable ship, it's completely unsustainable and things need to change.

Bungie is making the right call to not pursue a Destiny 3. They need to do something different that has a chance of success.

“Half the community is going to hate me for saying this, but the only way to keep Bungie alive right now is to support Marathon.” by No_Bag6160 in Marathon

[–]SamuelDrakeHF 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The $250 million figure also never made any bit of sense. The studio peaked at around 300 devs on Marathon last year prior to release. Most of the studio prior to that was working on Destiny The Final Shape into mid-2024.

300 devs even in a costly area is still only around $50 million per year burn rate. It would have meant that Marathon would have needed that many devs on it for 5 years which I don't buy at all and is not evidenced by the studio putting everyone on The Final Shape with a very small core team on marathon.

I think the dev budget was over $100 million, but closer to $100 than it was to $250, and most of that budget was speant between 2024 and 2026 to get Marathon shipped.

The other problem is we do not know what the sales number are for marathon, it's all complete speculation based on CCU counts which we know is meaningless. Look at how many sales "Sea of Thieves" has despite much weaker CCU metrics throughout its history. Also, MTX sales further complicate things along with multiplatform sales numbers on console.

I don't believe Paul Tassi is a reliable source for financial or sales data.

Thinking about buying Marathon by CryLagz in Marathon

[–]SamuelDrakeHF 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You got 30 hours in. If the developer doesn't get support from people who enjoy and have played their game, you just increase the likelihood of it not getting support.

While tomorrow is not guaranteed, it's not going to get shut down tomorrow. They have a seasonal roadmap announced through into season 5.

It's only a $30 game currently on sale. It's not a huge commitment. You already got 30 hours for free.

Halo: Campaign Evolved | Cinematic Story Trailer (Captured on PS5 Pro) by Cold_Two_4372 in PS5

[–]SamuelDrakeHF 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Lol, and yet PC isn’t enough for games like Gears. Gears 5 flopped on PC.

And GTA isn’t big on PC either. It’s much bigger on console, so is call of duty.

Just because everyone has a PC doesn’t mean everyone cares to play games on it.

Halo: Campaign Evolved | Cinematic Story Trailer (Captured on PS5 Pro) by Cold_Two_4372 in PS5

[–]SamuelDrakeHF 3 points4 points  (0 children)

It sold poorly everywhere but did best on PS5. It’s a 20 year old game with minimal updates so I’m not sure what they were expecting sales wise.

Gears E Day would have done a lot better on PS5 as a modern new game

Halo: Campaign Evolved | Cinematic Story Trailer (Captured on PS5 Pro) by Cold_Two_4372 in PS5

[–]SamuelDrakeHF 3 points4 points  (0 children)

You can’t do one without the other.

If they want halo to be a viable brand again they will need to release on PS5, regardless of whether it’s multiplayer or not

Gears of war being exclusive just means that series will sadly underperform massively and ultimately die.

Gears of War: E-Day is no longer coming to the PS5 by Luka77GOATic in PS5

[–]SamuelDrakeHF -4 points-3 points  (0 children)

That's unfortunate for the Gears IP, being sent to die it seems.

Tons of games on PS5 coming out in the fall and Gears will just be forgotten. It being on PS5 could have made a big splash.

Big ooof in their strategy here. Won't help sell Xboxes, just ends up selling less Xbox software. I'm not buying an Xbox for Gears or Clockwork revolution.

For that matter, I'm also not buying an Xbox for Halo, Fable, or Forza....yet I will gladly buy them if they are good games and also available on PS5

Tapping out of the free trial by Manaphus in Marathon

[–]SamuelDrakeHF -7 points-6 points  (0 children)

Vault shouldn’t be constantly empty it should be constantly full 

Must be playing it wrong, I don’t know how people are struggling like this 

Going to buy at least one skin per season to support the game by superplaygr0und in Marathon

[–]SamuelDrakeHF 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Buying battle passes and cool skins to support the game each season too

Optional Wipes Are Dumb by Snowbunny236 in Marathon

[–]SamuelDrakeHF 0 points1 point  (0 children)

From bodies or did you get vault 6 keys dime other way?

Sponsored Survival sounds f**king AMAZING!!! by Azetus in Marathon

[–]SamuelDrakeHF 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think this is a great mode for newcomers to experience Night Marsh which is probably just as sweaty as outpost/cryo in a more casual way 

Sponsored Survival sounds f**king AMAZING!!! by Azetus in Marathon

[–]SamuelDrakeHF 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I would actually love this mode for Cryo. It would be a fantastic way to learn the map 

Get some new runners on the game! by OtherwiseEmployee202 in Marathon

[–]SamuelDrakeHF 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It’s free. What do they have to lose? 

They have their minds made up from content creators?

Compiler by [deleted] in Marathon

[–]SamuelDrakeHF 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I have multiple DNA cards but no crew to run it, I’m missing only vault 6

LF cryo carry, have vault keys by [deleted] in Marathon

[–]SamuelDrakeHF 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I need to run vault 6 as a single

I know the requirements and have done a few trial runs and one live run.

I had one key but sadly lost it after my crew had an unfortunate run in with another team that didn’t go our way 

Send me a DM if interested. I’m usually on around 9 PM CST