Marathon: Bungie’s PVP extraction shooter platforms, gameplay, trailers, more

❘ Published: 2023-05-25T10:50:31

Bungie

Marathon is an upcoming PvP extraction shooter from Bungie, which sees the Destiny and Halo creators revive a series that has been dormant for over 25 years. Here’s everything we know about Marathon, from its gameplay to the platforms it will be on.

Bungie have created some of the most iconic franchises in gaming, from the legendary Halo series to the ever-popular Destiny. While Destiny 2 is heading towards its final expansion, the team have turned their attention to what comes next.

During the PlayStation Showcase 2023, Bungie officially revealed Marathon, a new PvP multiplayer title loosely inspired by their classic FPS series of the same name that shares plenty of DNA with Halo.

Here’s everything we know so far about Marathon, from how the gameplay will work to the platforms it’s being released on.

Is there a Marathon release date?
Marathon platforms
Marathon gameplay
Marathon story
Marathon trailers

Is there a Marathon release date?

So far, there has been no release date announced for Marathon. The game was announced during the PlayStation Showcase 2023, but the reveal trailer didn’t mention a release date or window.

However, the ViDoc shared alongside the announcement revealed how far along development is, as the devs explained they are “marching towards” an alpha build. They also confirmed that they would be “going dark” in the coming months to continue their work, and will resurface closer to an actual release date.

Marathon brings Bungie’s signature gameplay to an extraction shooter.

Marathon platforms

Marathon is set to drop on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC, as confirmed by the developers themselves. There is currently no word on whether or not a last-gen version is in the works for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, and a Nintendo Switch port seems unlikely.

The good news is that Marathon will feature full crossplay and cross-save support, so players can team up with friends and share progress between the same account on different platforms.

Marathon gameplay

Marathon is an extraction-based FPS in a similar vein to Escape from Tarkov or Warzone 2 DMZ, but will be far more focused on the PvP side of things. Players land on the planet Tau Ceti IV and must battle other players to escape alive with rare loot.

We will be controlling a Runner, who is in pursuit of “mysterious artifacts, implants, and weapons” to help them grow stronger over time. These Runners are fully customizable, so players will be able to choose their own visual and gameplay style.

Much like other extraction shooting, Marathon will place a great emphasis on risk vs reward gameplay, giving players the choice between getting out safely with what they have, or heading into one more fight where another team could steal all of their loot.

The devs also mentioned that players have the chance to become the “World’s First” by unlocking new zones of the planet for the rest of the community, but didn’t go into detail about how exactly this will work.

Marathon takes players to the planet Tau Ceti IV.

Marathon story

Marathon will not feature a single-player campaign like Destiny or Halo that came before it, and will instead reveal its story over the course of each season. Each new update will likely bring more story details and push the narrative forward.

The Game Director, Christopher Barrett, also clarified in a PlayStation blog post that Marathon is “not a direct sequel to the originals,” but “certainly belongs in the same universe.”

So, although the game will not continue the story of the first three games, but will feature plenty of nods to the universe.

Marathon trailers

The announcement trailer for Marathon was released during PlayStation Showcase 2023, giving players their first real look at the game’s setting and art style. Check it out below:

Bungie followed this up with an extended ViDoc that saw the devs talk more deeply about the design decisions behind the game and how it will play. You can check that out here too:

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