For more than a decade, Bungie had been so deeply ingrained in Destiny that it didn’t develop any new games. That is, until now. During the PlayStation Showcase on May 24, Bungie turned up with Marathon, a title familiar to long-time Bungie fans.
Long before landing it big with Destiny, Bungie developed a first-person shooter for the Apple Macintosh in 1994. This game spawned a trilogy of single- and multiplayer games that would make up the Marathon series. In 1996, the series stopped with Marathon Infinity, and now it’s kicking back up again 27 years later with a few new tricks up its sleeve.
Marathon Release Date
The reveal for Marathon offered no indication of a release date. In fact, in an interview for the PlayStation Blog, Marathon’s General Manager Scott Taylor stated “The next time you hear from us about Marathon, we’ll be able to show you the gameplay and will be much closer to launch.”
That doesn’t bode well for any further information being revealed in the near future. Expect to be waiting a few years before a Marathon release.
What is Marathon About?
The original Marathon series pit man against the Pfhor, an insectoid race of extraterrestrials. This iteration is shaking things up, largely because it’s a PvP extraction shooter. Though earlier games established the Pfhor as villains, things are a bit different this go around as the conflict is between players as they vie for loot and a safe extraction from the planet.
Players take control of synthetic Runners and equip themselves with all manner of weapons to use against one another. What everyone is fighting over is still a little bit of a mystery as Bungie’s Game Director, Christopher Barrett, simply states “loot” in the PlayStation Blog interview. It’s disappointing the Pfhor won’t be a core threat, though Barrett states they plan on honoring the original mythology and story.
That likely alludes to simple references thrown into the evolving worlds, as players create their own stories while fighting amongst one another.
Who is Developing Marathon?
Bungie is at the helm of Marathon’s development, bringing in many of the conventions it learned during its lengthy development of the Destiny series. Bungie does seem to be learning from some of its issues with Destiny 2, as Marathon will feature dedicated servers, and there will be very heavy focus on “anti-cheat measures,” a separate Bungie blog explains.
Along with the original Marathon trilogy and the Destiny series, Bungie developed the original Halo: Combat Evolved, Halo 2, Oni, and the Myth series from the late 1990s.
What Platform Will Marathon Release On?
Marathon is currently in development for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X & S, which is interesting considering Bungie is owned by Sony. According to the initial reveal information, the game will support full cross-play and cross-save, allowing players to bounce between platforms if they wish without losing progress.
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