Bungie's 'Marathon' Extraction Shooter Roars Back to Life

Marathon’s Game Director finally gave a long-awaited update on their anticipated sci-fi extraction shooter, Marathon. News of the groundbreaking project first broke in 2023, but details have been limited since then.

Bungie’s Marathon Re-Emerges with New Developer UpdateMarathon Game 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 major project, the title rekindled nostalgia for the studio’s pre-Halo days, while simultaneously piquing the interest of a new generation of gamers. However, details remained scarce, 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 interpretation of 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 aggressive 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 driving from."

Despite the dearth of details, fans can at least anticipate extensive playtests in 2025. Bungie may have held exclusive playtests during their intermittent communication, but these appear to have been confined in reach. According to Ziegler, "We’re aiming to incorporate a sizable number of players into each of our critical milestones as we progress. These key moments offer opportunities for you all to participate."

While the precise date for these playtests remains undetermined, Ziegler urged fans to add the game to their wishlists on platforms like Steam, Xbox, and PlayStation, as "it will help us ascertain your desire to acquire additional information about the game, and we can distribute the information accordingly."

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 over a ten-year period. 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 solitary 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."

- Barrett said back in 2023

• the game narrative.
• Ziegler did promise in his Developer Update
• However, we know that Marathon is coming to PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S,
• In March 2024, Chris Barrett, the original project lead, was reportedly fired from the studio
• Joe Ziegler then assumed the role of game director, likely leading to a shift in development priorities. Before this, Ziegler was the game director of Riot Games’ Valorant.
• Moreover, Bungie faced a significant workforce reduction this year, with layoffs impacting roughly 17% of their staff—220 employees on top of the 100 more they laid off just last year.
• While 2025 may seem far off