The mandatory server wipes for Marathon, the highly anticipated extraction shooter from Bungie, has become a point of controversy. The developer, best known for Halo and Destiny, announced a few days before the game’s launch on March 5 that all players will start fresh every season, effectively resetting everyone’s loot, player level, and progression for contracts and factions. This has caused further division among the game’s potential playerbase, with many criticizing Marathon for taking a sledgehammer to the progression system leaving the majority of casual players behind. However, the three-month server wipes are necessary for the game’s longevity and allow Bungie to introduce new mechanics and gear seamlessly.
Server wipes are common practice and not that surprising
Progression wipes are not particularly new when it comes to extraction shooters, though this may be a surprising point of difference for fans of Destiny and other FPS games.
Escape From Tarkov, a multiplayer first-person tactical shooter from Battlestate Games, is known in the genre for its server wipes that typically occur every six months or so. And the game has been available to the public since 2016 (with its official 1.0 release being in November 2025), so this mechanic is already well-established and even expected by this point. According to data from SteamDB (as of March 5, 2026), Escape From Tarkov still has around 15,000 concurrent players on PC and had a peak of roughly 48,000 players within the last four months. That’s a relatively high player count given that the game has been out for nearly a decade.
Outside of extraction shooters, seasonal wipes are common for ARPGs like Path of Exile from Grinding Gear Games and the Diablo series from Blizzard. About once every three to four months, Path of Exile 2 introduces a new seasonal league where the economy is effectively reset and players need to start over from level 1. Existing characters, along with their loot, are migrated to the non-reset server. The same pretty much goes for Diablo 4 with only a few differences.
That said, there is a difference here since Marathon currently does not have a non-reset server (it may have one in the future). But the concept is similar in that the seasonal wipes give both the developers and players the chance to try something new without the game becoming too stale over time.
It should also be noted that one of Marathon’s biggest rivals, the extraction shooter ARC Raiders from Embark Studios, allows players to optionally reset their character progress through a system called Expedition Project. It’s a popular option that gives players more flexibility, but Bungie choosing to use mandatory wipes in Marathon gives it a point of distinction.
Marathon’s server resets keeps the game fresh
Bungie revealed that every season for Marathon will last three months and introduce fresh content and features, including new Runner shells (or new playable characters), gameplay, zones (or maps), and events. Between seasons, players will be able to keep their achievements, titles, cosmetics, liaison contact progression, and Codex progression, but more or less everything else will be reset. As Bungie hopes in a blog post, “seasonal resets mean that the game stays dangerous, loot feels meaningful, and there’s always a good opportunity to get back into the game or bring a friend in without feeling behind the curve.”
And that’s basically correct. The main concern when it comes to extraction shooters is that the top players begin using and hoarding the best gear, creating a gap between them and new players. The eventual server wipe solves this issue by providing a good point for new players to jump in without being stomped on and pushes dedicated players to use their most powerful equipment more freely before they disappear.
This also keeps the economy moving, curbs potential power creep, and gives Bungie a natural point to remove loot that players aren’t using, balance any gear that are overpowered, and introduce new seasonal mechanics. The seasonal wipes are free too, meaning that players won’t need to purchase DLC or an expansion to experience new content.
While some have complained that Marathon’s three-month seasonal wipe is too frequent, this short turnaround allows Bungie the opportunity to incorporate feedback quickly. Veteran players and streamers will have fresh content to experience at a quicker pace too. While many upgrades will need to be unlocked again, players can adjust their playstyle toward the new meta for a particular season. So long as the developer can create different skill trees with updated paths and perks, along with new contracts, equipment, and narratives, Marathon will stay more vibrant and retain its most dedicated players.
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