Bungie has set December 8 as the launch date for Symbiosis, the next major update for its extraction shooter Marathon. The update adds a permanent PvE mode called Expedition, an experimental PvP mode, a new Runner shell, 2 weapons and a reworked Perimeter zone on Tau Ceti IV. PlayStation shared the first details yesterday. Check out the official post down below:
The attached video labels Expedition as a "co-op PvE roguelite" and shows Runners fighting through red-lit corridors, a golden fungal growth and the alien foliage of the updated Perimeter.
Everything Coming In Symbiosis
The PlayStation Blog lists the main additions:
- Updated Perimeter zone: Fungal growth and alien life have transformed the map, adding the underground Burrows and the submerged Reservoir. The Tick Queen lurks deep beneath the surface.
- Expedition: Phase 1 of a PvE-only mode built around a 3-run series, playable solo or with a crew, with new combat and environmental challenges, no PvP threats and Flash Boosts to shape a build during a run.
- Deathmatch (Beta): An experimental 3v3 Team Deathmatch mode where 2 crews compete for points without risking their permanent loadouts.
- Limbo: A social space where Runners can meet, test weapons and gear in firing ranges and fight each other in a dueling pit.
- Bishop: A new Runner shell built around a fast, blade-wielding robot.
- V17 Flamethrower: A short-range area denial weapon.
- Maverick: A new revolver archetype with a hand-cannon feel.
Bungie describes Bishop as a "fast, surgical hunter-killer built around speed, surprise, and devastating bursts of melee damage." The studio has also promised a new onboarding experience and quality-of-life updates with Symbiosis. Bungie's own post confirms the headline features:
Open Play Week And The Crew Up Event
Marathon will be free for everyone from December 8 to December 15. During Open Play Week, players can access everything in Symbiosis, including Expedition, Bishop, the updated Perimeter and the new gear and rewards. Anyone who buys the game after the free week keeps the items and progress they earned.
The Crew Up event runs alongside it, starting at 12 PM PT on December 8, which is 1 PM MST, and ending at 10 AM PT on December 22, which is 11 AM MST. Players redeem a code on Bungie.net to open an Events section in the in-game Codex with Crew Up challenges in Expedition. The challenges cannot be done solo and require at least 1 other player who has redeemed the code and is on the player's friends list. Completing them earns the Bring the Crew emblem, the Stronger Together background, the Code Redeemed weapon sticker, the Escape Together weapon charm, The Real Treasure skin for the Destroyer shell and the Exterminator title.
Part Of A Larger Roadmap
Bungie laid out Symbiosis in October alongside the Nightfall Refresh, which reset progression and the economy and added a free NuCal-inspired Reward Pass. Bungie calls Symbiosis Marathon's first permanent PvE experience. The next step comes in March, when Bungie plans to connect PvE, PvP and PvEvP survival experiences and add a refactored Cradle, deeper shell progression, a narrative quest system, new alien enemies and an entirely new zone.
Marathon launched on March 5, 2026, on PS5, Xbox Series X|S and PC, with full cross-play and cross-save. It is set on Tau Ceti IV in 2893, where Runners, mercenaries who live in biocybernetic shells, raid the abandoned colony of the UESC Marathon for loot and must extract to keep what they find. The Cryo Archive endgame zone arrived after launch, as covered in MARATHON Players Can Now Venture In The New Cryo Archive Endgame Zone That Arrives Today, and the game lost its director this summer, as covered in Marathon Game Director Joe Ziegler Exits Bungie Four Months After Launch Just Days Before Mid-Season Update.
Which part of Symbiosis gets you back into Marathon first, Expedition, the 3v3 Deathmatch beta or the Bishop shell?
Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.