The collective grief over the impending end of Destiny 2 has been loud, with calls to action from the community for everyone to log on and support the game on June 9, and an outcry for work to get cracking on Destiny 3.
Some fans have been more vocal than others, and prominent creator Aztecross is raising eyebrows with his scorched-earth approach of waging war against Marathon. Many believe Destiny is being abandoned by the corporate overlords in pursuit of chasing gains with Marathon.
But is this true? And is boycotting Marathon even the answer here?
A rant squared directly at Sony and Bungie leadership
Reacting to the news over the weekend, including reports that the vast majority of Bungie's developers tragically learned their game was being shelved at the exact same time the public did, the streamer delivered a fierce monologue.
"When I picked up Marathon in February/March, you know, I had a good time playing Marathon, and I believe that, you know, playing Marathon and some indirect way would contribute to Destiny 3. With that being said, Marathon community, you guys have been seeing some of the comments out there, and the reality is this. You're kind of the target right now.
But really, the target is Bungie leadership and Sony, but you're going to be one of the targets by proxy. Okay? I know a lot of people right now who, since last week's announcement, have essentially completely walked away from Marathon. I don't want to play Marathon. I'll play it maybe seasonally. I may jump in a few weeks, but I want Destiny. I want Destiny 3. I want this universe expanded.
And Marathon, if I have to f**king bury you myself to send that message, I shall. I will do everything I can to destroy you."
Aztecross openly acknowledged that taking this stand means staring down a corporate firing squad regarding his own revenue streams, stating he is entirely willing to lose his existing Sony partnerships and sponsorships to "stand on" his principles.
For a major influencer to essentially say goodbye to all their sponsorships is absolutely wild, and a massive rift is forming in the community over this. While statements like this are clearly spawned from a passion and love for the game, is this scorched-earth rage actually self-defeating in the long run?
The Bungie devs are in the crossfire
The immediate pushback to the anti-Marathon sentiment comes from a place of empathy for the creators behind both Destiny and Marathon. The developers working on these games are not the ones who decided to wind down Destiny 2, and unfortunately, as reported by Paul Tassi over at Forbes, many were completely unaware of this decision until it was made public.
I can promise you all one thing.There is not a single dev at Bungie that wants all the hard work and dedication from their peers and coworkers to fail. I promise you everyone at that company wants to see Marathon thrive and they want to see their co-workers hard work and…May 27, 2026
The worry here is that by petitioning for Marathon to fail, by extension, that means Bungie will cease to exist, which effectively puts the nail in the coffin of the Destiny franchise anyway.
In the modern gaming industry, parent companies do not reward a studio's failure by giving them hundreds of millions of dollars to resurrect an old franchise. If Marathon tanks, Sony won't suddenly greenlight Destiny 3 out of panic; they will likely shutter Bungie entirely.
Instead of burning the studio "to the ground", some groups are urging players to channel their energy into the show of force on June 9. The Monument of Triumph update, while being the last for the game, does promise a massive influx of weapons and armor, which may keep existing players satiated for some time.
It’s just dawned on me exactly how much loot will be added in this update from r/DestinyTheGame
By flooding the Destiny 2 servers and keeping player engagement high, fans present a much safer corporate argument: there is less financial risk in making Destiny 3 for an active, thriving player base than there is in abandoning it completely after the June 9 protest.
Nuance in a highly emotional situation
Aztecross's response to the situation is extreme, but I can see why. I can't say I wouldn't be just as angry if this were happening to my favorite game. I've not been an active player in Destiny 2 for some time now, but I've had a great time with friends in the past and met new Guardians on the way. Like any online community, it has bred real-life relationships and deep commitments for people, making it incredibly hard to watch the doors be forced shut.
The Destiny community is hurting right now. They are entirely justified in their fury at corporate lack of transparency and the casualness with which layoffs are handled all around. But weaponizing that anger against Marathon is a dangerous game of chicken, which could seal the fate of Destiny for good.
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