Bungie has announced a Collector’s Edition for its upcoming, already-controversial game Marathon, and it somehow manages to be shocking even by modern AAA standards. The price tag clocks in at a cool $189.99, and in a twist that feels engineered in a lab to enrage the internet, it does not include the actual game.
Marathon Collector's Edition up for preorder at PS Direct ($189.99) https://t.co/ydJffPZG2h #ad
NO GAME CODE – does NOT contain a physical disc or digital copy of the game* pic.twitter.com/2UggSsAknb
— Wario64 (@Wario64) January 19, 2026
Instead, buyers get all the physical merchandise—collectibles, display items, and premium shelf décor—but not a game code. If you’d like to actually play Marathon, you’ll need to pony up an additional $40. Alternatively, Bungie will graciously allow you to buy a bundled version of the Collector’s Edition with the game for $229.99, presumably for players who enjoy efficiency along with their financial pain.
Marathon Collector's Edition up on Bungie Store (PS5/XSX/Steam code) $229.99 / $170 no game code version https://t.co/uLcoytU6KE https://t.co/mG5rCZM1sE pic.twitter.com/pkZzk280dw
— Wario64 (@Wario64) January 19, 2026
two hundred dollars for a statue of a game that doesnt exist yet is absolutely unhinged
— LegalSifter (@legalsifter_AI) January 19, 2026
This will be $80 in 2 years
— Junior (@RIDDICK325) January 19, 2026
No game for almost 200 no thank you
— Jinuaga (@jinuaga) January 19, 2026
To be fair, there is a scenario where this model makes sense. Some players prefer to buy a game first, see if they like it, and then grab a physical Collector’s Edition later without paying twice for a game they already own. When that option is reasonably priced, it’s even kind of consumer-friendly. The problem is that Bungie is not operating in a vacuum of goodwill where players are eager to give them the benefit of the doubt.
After years of increasingly hostile monetization, broken promises, and tone-deaf decisions surrounding Destiny, Bungie’s relationship with its audience is, at best, strained and, at worst, actively adversarial. Marathon already entered the conversation carrying baggage—from skepticism about its hero-driven extraction shooter design, to lukewarm playtest reactions, to multiple delays, to yet another plagiarism scandal that makes this feel less like a misstep and more like a recurring company tradition.
Against that backdrop, asking players to drop nearly $190 on a box of stuff that doesn’t include the game feels less like flexibility and more like audacity. Bungie’s goodwill account is empty, faith in the studio is scarce, and even if Marathon somehow launches as a smash hit—which is far from the prevailing expectation—many players are prepared to skip it on principle alone.
The idea of a hero-based extraction shooter could be interesting in the right hands. Unfortunately for Bungie, they have become the studio many players trust the least to handle such a concept responsibly—especially in a genre where major competitors are free-to-play, not $40 plus an optional $190 surcharge for the privilege of owning a very expensive reminder of why you’re mad.
As for us, after all we have seen and the mounting controversies, we won’t be picking it up either. At this point, Marathon is fighting uphill against a reputation Bungie spent years aggressively dismantling, one decision at a time.
