Marathon
The studio behind Destiny and Halo have debuted the very first gameplay trailer for their next sci-fi shooter: Marathon. Taking place on a mysteriously abandoned colony on the planet Tau Ceti IV, the next title by Bungie is an extraction shooter where players will join up in teams of three to fight environmental enemies and other players to collect as much loot as possible. Strangely enough, Marathon will not be free-to-play and Bungie have yet to confirm a price, which has raised concerns about its success in a very crowded shooter market.
Similar to Escape from Tarkov in genre, Marathon has been highly anticipated since it was first teased all the way back in May 2023, and it is thankfully finally ramping up for its release date later this year with a Closed Alpha and a cinematic short by the director of Love, Death, and Robots. Like Destiny and Halo, Marathon will likely feature themes of rogue AI and interstellar conflicts with various alien factions as players will explore an empty colony planet as cybernetic mercenaries.
When Bungie's Marathon Releases
Marathon Is Set To Release In Late 2025
The newest shooter by Bungie, the developers of Haloand Destiny, will be available in the later part of the year on September 23, 2025. Strangely enough, this release date is the exact same day that Borderlands 4 comes out, so the two titles will go head-to-head this fall. Fortunately for any players that want an early taste of Marathon before September, there is a Closed Alpha set from April 23 to May 4. Players will need to be selected prior to playing the alpha, which means a small amount of luck will be involved.
To sign up for the Closed Alpha, players will need to join the Marathon Discord channel, at which point they'll receive a private message with instructions with a unique sign-up link. The chosen players will get an email from Bungie, so being able to play early isn't guaranteed. The Closed Alpha seems to be restricted to North America, but since this alpha is so far away from the release date in September, it's highly likely there will be another alpha or beta in the near future.
Marathon Platforms & Pricing
Bungie's Newest Game Will Not Be Free-To-Play
Marathon will be available to play at launch on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series S/X, and PC. Bungie has already confirmed that the game will have full cross-play and cross-save on launch, which will make it easy to team up with friends on different systems. Interestingly enough, despite entering a crowded market of live-service shooters, Marathon will not be free-to-play. Bungie hasn't yet let it slip how much their new title will cost, though there will be a (presumably paid) battle pass in the game as well.
Comparing Marathon To 2024's Biggest FPS Failure Is Already A Waste Of Time
Despite a couple of possible comparisons, Bungie's upcoming extraction shooter Marathon looks like a deeply different game from Concord.
Launching yet another live-service shooter with a price tag is certainly a risky move, especially following recent failures like Concord, which charged $40 at launch. Bungie has hinted that Marathon won't be full price, but have so far avoided giving any further information regarding pricing. It seems likely that the game will be around the $30 or $40 price point, which doesn't seem entirely wise if the game wants to carve out a space for itself in a flooded market. It's surprising that Bungie isn't repeating their Destiny style of payment, which is free-to-play with pricey DLC. For reference, Destiny 2's latest DLC, The Final Shape, is $49.99.
Everything We Know About Marathon's Story
Explore The Mystery Of Tau Centi IV's Abandoned Colony
Marathon is actually a continuation of one of Bungie's earliest games with the same title. Marathon, released in 1994, took place in 2794 on a huge colony ship bound for the Tau Centi system to settle a colony on its fourth planet. The original game's story features sentient (and increasingly rampant) AI as well as warring alien races - both early Bungie staples - and the new version of Marathon will continue that story over fifty years later. Set in 2850, 2025's Marathon will take place on Tau Ceti IV, the very same planet the original colony ship was trying to reach.
Bungie's Marathon Trilogy was originally released in the mid-1990s.
Now, Tau Ceti IV is abandoned with its colonists gone without a trace. You will take the role of Runners, cybernetic mercenaries who have abandoned their human bodies for heightened abilities, and been hired by warring factions to scavenge Tau Ceti IV for whatever valuable supplies and materials the lost colonists left behind.
The mystery surrounding the lost colony will be the main story for Marathon, and since it's a live-service game, it will likely be slowly revealed over time through events and timed lore drops. Finding out what happened to this Roanoke-like colony is tantalizing and should lead to interesting Destiny and Halo-style lore.
Marathon Gameplay Details
An Extraction Shooter With Teams Of Three
Unlike the original 1994 game, 2025's Marathon will be an extraction looter shooter, where Runners can join up in teams of three to explore their surroundings and collect as much loot as possible. The main objective is to locate and extract as much loot from the map as possible without being killed. Getting out successfully means players will be able to use their new and improved loot in their next game, while dying means losing everything, which should make every match uniquely stressful with ever-rising stakes.
Marathon Won't Require A PSN Account Despite Being Owned By Sony
Sony won't be requiring a PSN account for PC and Xbox players of the upcoming sci-fi extraction shooter from Bungie, Marathon.
Marathon will utilize shared objectives and pings, which should make it easy to play with teammates even without microphone comms. However, it's not a requirement to play with a team, as there will be a no-fill option, but running solo may be difficult considering the game will be PvPvE. Environmental enemies will include roaming security forces, like the robots shown in the first trailer, as well as strange, hostile alien creatures.
You will be able to choose from six different Runner classes, though only four will be available in the upcoming Closed Alpha. The classes that have been revealed so far are Blackbird, Glitch, Locus, and Void. Each Runner comes with one Prime ability, one Tactical, and two Traits. You will be able to create any team composition they want as there are no limits on doubling up, so one team could hypothetically all be Glitch.
Right now, that's all we really know about Marathon. However, Bungie has been teasing the game for a while now, so more news will trickle in over the course of this year and leading up to launch. The game is set to release this September.
Source: Marathon/YouTube
