After two years, Bungie has finally unveiled its next project and take on the extraction shooter, Marathon. During their gameplay reveal showcase, Bungie went over the basics of the game, highlighted the different Runners or characters players can choose from, and more. Bungie also went into the game’s art style, design philosophy and answered some questions from the community. Bungie also revevaled and announced that Marathon will launch on September 23, 2025.
Marathon is a team-based extraction shooter set in the lost colony of Tau Ceti IV. Players take on the role of a Runner, a cybernetic mercenary with unique abilities and stats. Players will fight in crews of three across a variety of zones and points of interest. The game is PvPvE so players will go up against other players and countless secruity forces and otherworldly threats. The objective is to get in, scavenge for weapons, materials, and equipment, and get out in one piece.
There will be 6 Runners that players can choose from at launch. Each will be equipped with different abilities and focus on different tactics. During the gameplay showcase, Bungie highlighted 4 of the 6: Locust, Blackbird, Glitch, and Void. The Locust is all about pushing forward in the action and trying to take everyone down head-on. Blackbird is focused on gathering information and is able to find out where other players are. Bungie describes Glitch as a disrupter. They also want to push forward like the Locust but Glitch also wants to get away and repeat. Void is the Rouge of the Runners, focusing on sneaking around, deploying smoke, and can enter full active camo cloak to either get downed teammates up or taking others by surprise. These four Runners will be available for players to try in the Alpha.
Players will be able to augment their Runners throughout the game by finding implants, cores and other items that will change certain aspects of the character, such as increased agility, shields, etc… Cores will provide players other passives. Each implant, item, core, and weapon will have different rarities. As they go up, they provide more substantial augmentations, stats, and more.
Like most extraction shooters, Marathon will have a faction and contract system where players can earn specific upgrades with factions as they take on contracts.
Bungie revealed that they will be holding a Closed Alpha Test that runs from April 23 to May 4. Anyone interested can join the official Marathon Discord server and follow the steps to sign up. The Test will only be available to players who are 18+ and are located in North America.
Even though Marathon is a multiplyer game, that doesn’t mean Bungie doesn’t want to tell stories. Bungie says that one of its goals for each season of Marathon is “to bring new mysteries and stories for you and your friends to explore. Some of this will happen through in-game moments—like community events, missions, in-world collectibles, and more—and some of it will go beyond the game, like with our recent ARG and today’s cinematic short.”
“Marathon’s revival is botha reimagining of and a direct successor to the original games,” says Narrative Director Julia Nardin. “We want to honor the franchise’s history while creating a new point-of-entry for fans.”
“Those who have been with Bungie from the very beginning will recognize characters, locations and events from the original trilogy, but they may also discover that those events played out slightly differently than they might remember,” says Nardin.
The cinematic short was directed by award-winning director Alberto Mielgo and his animation studio pinkman.tv.
“When I first read about Marathon’s universe and characters, I found everything strangely poetic and mysterious,” said Alberto Mielgo. “The concepts of futility and endurance immediately came to mind, and I felt an urgent need to write about it. Seeing the game team’s super bold and vibrant artwork created an instant connection. It’s all deeply inspiring and thought-provoking.”
