You're safe: Buying Marathon on Steam no longer downloads Destiny 2 automatically
After three years of waiting, in part because of Bungie returning to the drawing board following its contentious public alpha and Arc Raiders' success, Marathon is almost here. For real this time—it's coming March 5, pre-orders are open, and you can even buy a fancy shmancy collector's edition.
In the meantime, Bungie's 'money maker' Destiny 2's been in a consistent decline since the release of the widely panned Lightfall expansion. Sadly, even during its prime, it felt like an uphill battle to recommend and convince other people to actually play Destiny.
Bungie must've felt the same way, clearly, as it's just had to make an all-time great patch note to a back-end Steam bug: "We've resolved an issue where Destiny 2 would begin installing after pre-ordering Marathon on Steam." Now that's a bold strategy to boost the player count.
We've resolved an issue where Destiny 2 would begin installing after pre-ordering Marathon on Steam. We have also resolved an issue where Collector's Edition owners would receive an error when attempting to activate their game code on Steam.January 20, 2026
Don't worry though, as mentioned, the haunting spirit of Destiny 2 hiding in Marathon has now been exorcised, so if you're on the fence about pre-ordering, you won't be forced to install or play the languishing looter-shooter too.
My only guess as to how something like this would happen is potentially due to the Destiny 2: Marathon Pack pre-order bundle. Since this is an exclusive cosmetic bundle for Destiny but acquired by pre-ordering Marathon, this Steam bug must've worked on the assumption that you'd want to try out your new 'freebies'. Most don't, it seems, with many jokingly that pre-ordering Marathon "installs a virus". A bit harsh...
On that note, Bungie also explains that it has resolved an issue where this pre-order bonus was not appearing in Destiny 2's Special Deliveries Kiosk as it was supposed to, meaning players couldn't actually claim it in-game.
We have resolved an issue where the Destiny 2: Marathon Pack (bundled with pre-order of Marathon) was not appearing in the Special Deliveries Kiosk as expected.Players who have pre-ordered can now collect the UESC Echo-type Shell Exotic Ghost, UESC Rover Exotic Ship, and UESC… pic.twitter.com/Zs330S2mvvJanuary 19, 2026
Bungie has also recently announced the voice cast for Marathon. With the likes of Samantha Béart, Roger Clark, Darin De Paul, Jennifer English, Neil Newbon, and Ben Starr, it's oddly stacked for an extraction shooter.
While it's easy to poke fun at this unusual Steam bug (Bungie is no stranger to absurd glitches Bungie is always patching—I'm looking at you, Destiny 2), Marathon's new look is showing lots of promise.
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