Bungie’s Marathon Resurfaces with New Developer UpdateMarathon: Resurgence Release Date Still Far Off, But Playtests Are Planned for 2025
For over a year, Bungie has remained tight-lipped about their sci-fi extraction shooter, Marathon. Announced in May 2023’s PlayStation Showcase as Bungie’s next flagship project, the title revived nostalgia for the studio’s pre-Halo days, while simultaneously capturing the interest of a new generation of gamers. However, details remained elusive, and the May 2023 announcement was followed by a deafening silence. After more than a year, Bungie finally released a long-awaited developer update for Marathon.The update, presented by Marathon’s Game Director Joe Ziegler, addressed the community’s concerns head-on. "A lot of you might be asking the question, ‘What is Marathon?’" He clarified that the title is Bungie’s take on the extraction shooter genre. Ziegler was not able to provide gameplay footage, but he did confirm that the game is "on track" and that they have been "making a lot of sweeping changes to the game" after testing with a "a lot of players." He even hinted at a class-based system where players choose and customize "Runners" with unique abilities.
For now, he was only able to provide screenshots for two of the potentially many runners: "Thief" and "Stealth." Ziegler didn't offer much information about the two Runners, but he did say that their names "should give you a hint as to what kind of gameplay that character is going to be facilitating from."
Despite the lack of information, fans can at least expect extended playtests in 2025. Bungie may have conducted closed playtests during their extended silence, but these seem to have been limited in scope. According to Ziegler, "We’re looking to add a considerable amount of players to each of our milestones as we’re going forward. And some of these major inflections are opportunities for you all to join us."
While the exact date for these playtests remains unknown, Ziegler encouraged fans to wishlist the game on platforms like Steam, Xbox, and PlayStation, as "it will help us know that you want to learn more about the game, and we can sort of send the information your way."
Bungie's Marathon Overview
Marathon is a reimagining of Bungie’s early nineteen-nineties Marathon trilogy. The game also represents Bungie’s first major departure from the Destiny franchise in more than a decade. According to then-director Chris Barrett, "it’s not a direct sequel to the originals, but something that certainly belongs in the same universe and that feels like a Bungie game."
Barrett added that "you don't need to know anything about Marathon to understand or play this game, but if you do, we’ve made the experience with references and deep cuts you’ll recognize."
Set on the desolate world of Tau Ceti IV, Marathon is a high-stakes extraction shooter, where players, known as Runners, must "fight for survival, for riches, and for fame." They can either team up with two other Runners or go solo to scavenge for alien artifacts and valuable loot. Be careful, however, as Barrett points out that Runners could encounter "another crew vying for the same loot, or a last-second extraction while beset on all sides."
- "creating opportunities for player-driven stories to unfold, stories that are integrated with the overarching game narrative."
- "we’re layering on some elements that we think really help modernize it and also bring it to a new story… and new world that we can sort of like continue to update and delight all of you with over the course of time."
- "he was accused by several female employees of inappropriate behavior,"
- "This undoubtedly impacted the studio’s capacity, leading to a slower development cycle for Marathon."
- "The Developer Update, hopefully, is a sign that development for the game is going smoothly, despite layoffs upon layoffs upon layoffs at Bungie."
