Bungie finally lifted the curtain on its upcoming extraction shooter, Marathon. A lot of you younger gamers may not know this, but Marathon is actually a reboot of an earlier series.
Back in 1994, Bungie developed and published Marathon for the Apple Macintosh, which turned out to be a commercial success at the time. Two sequels — Marathon 2: Durandal and Marathon Infinity — were released in 1995 and 1996, respectively, but the franchise has laid dormant since then.
Until now.
In May 2023, Bungie announced a reboot of its Marathon series. It's a multiplayer extraction shooter with a focus on player versus player gameplay and loot extraction mechanics.
There have been a lot of rumors about the game, but today we got our official first look at it. Bungie and Sony hosted a gameplay reveal showcase.
Marathon will see players work in crews of three to scavenge the remnants of the lost colony on Tau Ceti IV. While searching for powerful weapons and equipment that have been left behind, crews will encounter AI security forces, otherworldly threats, and even rival Runner teams competing for loot. As a PVP-centric title, Bungie acknowledges that death is "part of the journey." However, if you do make it out alive, you'll keep everything you've scavenged, effectively growing in strength and power.
When forming their crew, players will choose from a roster of Runners, "cybernetic mercenaries who’ve given up their human form for biosynthetic shells." Each Runner comes with their own unique abilities, stats, and styles. It's basically Marathon's version of a class system. Runners will serve as the foundation for you to customize your playstyle. As you collect implants and other equipment on your scavenging runs, you can use them to argument your Runner and fine-tune them to your playstyle.
“For example, Glitch is all about agility, movement, and going fast. You can lean into this style harder by stacking implants and upgrades that reduce heat build-up and allow you to keep running, jumping, and sliding longer before having to cool down,” explained Kevin Yanes, Senior Design Lead. “There are also rare items that can really push the boundaries like Prestige Cores. Glitch has one that will upgrade her double jump to a triple jump, giving you a lot of maneuverability in the air.”
Below is a gameplay overview that provides a nice breakdown of the core loop of Marathon.
Marathon is set to launch on September 23rd for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. A Closed Alpha Test is scheduled to take place this month.