Bungie is set to finally reveal what playing Marathon, an extraction-shooter revival of Bungie’s sci-fi FPS series, will be like. A gameplay reveal showcase is slated for April 12 at 10 AM PT / 1 PM ET.
Marathon’s social media accounts sparked to life in the past week, pointing to an ARG (alternate reality game) that led to online sleuthing for puzzle solutions and secrets, in the process unveiling new artwork for the game and presumably helping to unlock Bungie’s official announcement of the gameplay showcase.
Bungie’s next game was announced two years ago with a stylish trailer but few details other than it would be an extraction shooter set in the same universe of Bungie’s old, pre-Halo IP that ended with Marathon Infinity in 1996. Marathon is Bungie’s first new game since the release of Destiny 2 in 2017, though Destiny has received regular updates and expansions since then.
Fans still don’t have many official details of what playing Marathon will entail aside from the usual extraction genre staples of competing against other teams to make it out alive with a bag of precious loot (though a brief teaser clip for the gameplay reveal does include a pink robotic cat). Bungie provided a detail-light update in October 2024 that hinted Marathon would be bringing a hero shooter approach to the genre, implying some of what some “Runners” (Marathon’s name for player characters) would be able to do. A report from around the same time indicated Marathon would be $40 and not free-to-play, but it’s unclear if that is still Bungie’s plan or if plans have changed.
Marathon received a new game director, Joe Ziegler, in late 2023 following layoffs at Bungie. He previously worked at Riot on its popular free-to-play shooter Valorant. The game’s old director, Chris Barrett, was reportedly let go from Bungie for alleged misconduct towards women coworkers, and is now suing Bungie and parent company Sony alleging he was fired without cause. Another round of layoffs at Bungie, which affected 220 people, happened in July 2024 following the release of Destiny 2: The Final Shape.
Marathon is set to release on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC, but does not have an official release date or window just yet. No doubt more information will be revealed at the Marathon gameplay showcase, so fans won’t have to wait long for more news.