Image: Bungie
Bungie’s upcoming multiplayer extraction shooter Marathon gets a developer update.
Bungie has released a developer update video to shed light on its upcoming sci-fi extraction shooter Marathon, based on its long-dormant game series of the same name. The video is unfortunately devoid of actual gameplay, as Bungie notes that it’s a “little early to show" anything from the game.
However, it’s not too early for the developer to explain what Marathon actually is.
What exactly is Marathon?
Bungie has released an almost 10-minute-long developer update video diving into its upcoming multiplayer sci-fi extraction shooter Marathon. Game director Joe Ziegler hosted the developer update, and started off by explaining what Marathon is: an extraction shooter in the vein of games like Escape From Tarkov and Hunt: Showdown. Players will enter a wide-open environment filled with AI-controlled enemy mobs and real-life players, and attempt to survive against all odds.
While fighting to survive in these environments, they’ll also have to tick off quests, search for loot, and most importantly, attempt to extract before dying to keep all of their hard-earned items. Where Marathon slightly differs is its selection of playable characters, called Runners. These Runners possess key abilities that can be customised to fit certain playstyles, allowing for different ways to complete a run.
Ziegler showed off concept art for two new Runners in the video: one codenamed ‘Thief’ and another codenamed ‘Stealth’. Thief’s kit appears to be geared around ambushing players, while Stealth players will have to rely on deception and trickery to get the upper hand. Marathon appears to only loosely resemble Bungie's sci-fi shooter series of the same name, but this game will have "familiar elements" like the "mysteries, eeriness, and psychological creepiness" from the original games.
Ziegler went on to say that the game is shaping up nicely, with a “"variety of different things in different states" at the moment, making it “a little early to show you all of it as one piece.” However, he assured fans that more will be revealed from the game in the middle of 2025, as Bungie looks to ramp up playtesting sometime next year.
Marathon currently has no release date.