PlayStation Owners Claim Refunds En Masse For AAA Discount Blunder

Playstation owners are being encouraged to request a refund if they took advantage of a AAA game discount that doesn’t actually get them the game.

When a game is struggling to build or maintain its playerbase, it’ll often try to coax new players in with a generous discount at the end of a free trial period.

That’s exactly what happened with Marathon, a first-person extraction shooter published by Bungie, the studio behind the OG Halo games and Destiny, and distributed by Sony Interactive Entertainment.

Right now, gamers can play Marathon for free as part of a free trial. There’s even a discount for 30% off the Deluxe Edition for players wanting to stick around.

There’s a catch though, as those who’ve played the game for free and purchased the Deluxe Edition after are not actually receiving the full game. That’s because it’s not included.

On the PlayStation Store, the Deluxe Edition’s contents are listed as the following:

Sony

It clearly states that “Marathon” is included with purchase, suggesting you’ll own the full game once you’ve parted with your hard-earned cash.

However as confirmed by Wario64 on X, a new disclaimer has been added to the store page.

It reads: “Please note that if you have already downloaded Marathon during the Open Play Week but have not purchased Marathon: Purchasing this product will grant access to the Deluxe Edition content only for the duration of the Open Play Week, after which accessing this content will require purchase of the Marathon Standard Edition.”

So if you’ve already bought this Deluxe Edition because you enjoyed what you played in the trial, we’re afraid you still don’t actually own the game. This blunder hasn’t done the game’s reputation any favours.

Now gamers who bought the Deluxe Edition are being encouraged to request a refund from Sony, which is easier said than done because usually you’re ineligible for a refund if you’ve already downloaded/played the game you bought.

This was clearly an oversight though and not the fault of customers, so in an ideal world, the refunds will be honoured or at the very least a copy of the game should be supplied to anyone who purchased the upgrade pack.

Some gamers are even pondering the viability of a lawsuit, though the situation doesn’t feel serious enough for that just yet.

The timing really couldn’t be any worse for Marathon either. The game has consistently struggled to maintain its player count with its new Season 2 potentially being its last chance at success.

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