Destiny 3 Petition Shatters Marathon’s Peak Player Count

In a bid to try and save the Destiny franchise, fans have rallied behind a petition for Bungie to begin development on Destiny 3, and it’s already accrued more signatures than Marathon‘s peak player count.

This is especially damning, since it’s been revealed that Destiny 2 is no longer receiving any more updates, and instead, it seems like Bungie is moving on to prioritise the furtherment of Marathon instead, despite its underwhelming fan reception.

Fans Are Desperate For Destiny 3

At the time of writing, the petition urging Sony to greenlight Destiny 3 has surpassed 170,000 signatures, with the numbers continuing to climb.

According to Paul Tassi and sources at Bungie, Marathon’s player count split appears to sit at roughly 2:1 between Steam and console users. While exact figures across all platforms remain unclear, that metric would indicate that Marathon likely peaked somewhere between 130,000 and 150,000 players during its opening week.

That makes the Destiny 3 movement all the more notable, as it directly clashes with Bungie’s apparent strategy of investing more time and resources into Marathon rather than the future of Destiny. Reports of further layoffs at Bungie have only added to concerns surrounding the franchise’s future, making the prospect of Destiny 3 feel increasingly distant.

Still, that hasn’t stopped the community from holding onto hope. With Destiny 2’s final update, Monument of Triumph, arriving on June 9, fans are encouraging players to return to the game in large numbers in an effort to show Sony that there is still a massive audience invested in the franchise.

Unfortunately for fans, the situation still comes down to finances. Despite the success of the Destiny 2 expansion The Final Shape, which many will now consider as the ‘true ending’ to Destiny, the release was still followed by major layoffs at Bungie. With Bungie decreasing in value as a studio, it seems unlikely Sony is willing to invest in Destiny 3 anytime soon.

If you’re hoping to see Destiny 3 enter development, it’d serve you well to sign the petition and log in to the game on June 9 along with the thousands of others who plan to do so. It’s as long a shot as they get, but for a franchise like Destiny, it can’t go down without a fight.

What do you make of the Destiny situation? Do you think Bungie are making a mistake prioritising Marathon over Destiny? Share your thoughts in the official Insider Gaming Discord Server, and don’t forget to tune into the Insider Gaming Showcase on May 28!

For more gaming news, read about the reveal of Unreal Engine 6, as well as what to expect from the upcoming Sony State of Play.