Bungie gives an update on Marathon following layoffs

3 weeks ago 3

Bungie has been mostly quiet about its upcoming extraction shooter Marathon, which still has a 2025 release window. In a developer update released on Monday, the game director confirmed that it’s still in the works, but it’s too early to share more details.

In the nearly 10-minute video, which you can watch below, director Joe Ziegler showed off two new pieces of concept art — one for a character code-named “Thief” (pictured above) and another foe a character code-named “Stealth.” Ziegler didn’t provide any information on these Runners, but from the names, you can guess what kind of playstyles they cater to.

Marathon | Developer Update

Otherwise, the video goes over the basics of the game again, describes how it connects with the existing Marathon IP, and gives a quick update on development progress. Ziegler confirmed that the game is coming along, but that Bungie couldn’t provide any more details or show off any footage as different parts of the game are at different stages of development. The team is hoping to show more by mid-2025 after it expands playtests to more players.

“For the past couple of years, we’ve been doing a lot of aggressive change to the game, and we’ve been iterating pretty heavily,” Ziegler says. For example, the environments are “starting to come together,” but the character models “aren’t fully there yet.” “They’re not all together, but when they all do come together, we’re really looking forward to showing you what that looks like.”

A Marathon character called Stealth standing on a high platform in smoke. They're carrying a gun and are wearing a mask.

In Marathon, you play as a Runner who has to delve into maps on a planet called Tau Ceti IV and complete objectives to make it out alive. Each of the Runners will have different skill sets, and you can customize them with gear. If you don’t extract, you’ll lose all your items.

The game is a follow-up to one of Bungie’s earliest franchises, which began all the way back in 1994 and continued throughout the 1990s. Ziegler says that the new Marathon will take elements from the original, including its creepy atmosphere, but that it’ll be a “new story” in a “new world.”

Marathon was revealed in a May 2023 PlayStation Showcase, but announcements and reveals have been scarce since then. Bungie has also been dealing with some internal chaos, with numerous layoffs and a restructuring with parent company Sony Interactive Entertainment. Bungie is set to focus more on fixing Destiny 2 and developing Marathon in lieu of other projects, although the new studio will be working on an original sci-fi/fantasy action game.

Carli Velocci

Carli is a technology, culture, and games editor and journalist. They were the Gaming Lead and Copy Chief at Windows Central…

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