Bungie has decided to leave Destiny and introduce us to Marathon, a new PvP FPS game that will be available on PlayStation, Xbox and PC. It was shortly after the PlayStation conference that the studio wanted to give us some details.
What is Marathon?
Marathon is Bungie’s first all-new project in over a decade. It is a PvP extraction shooter set in a sci-fi universe where players will play as cybernetic mercenaries known as Runners.
Exploring a lost colony on the mysterious planet Tau Ceti IV, Runners – working solo or in teams of three – will fight for survival, wealth and glory.
Marathon, of course, evokes the original game released in 1994 by Bungie, but it is definitely something new here. Bungie says Marathon’s mythology, story, and world themes will be preserved, but it’s a new title that “looks like a Bungie game.”
Finding opportunities to nod to the history of the universe, while building something different and new, has been one of the best parts of developing this game so far.
Our goal is to create something amazing both for players new to the world of Marathon and for those who have been waiting years for new stories in the Marathon universe. You don’t need to know Marathon to understand or play this game, but if you do, we’ve incorporated references and snippets into the experience that you’ll recognize.
A story and a solo campaign in Marathon?
Marathon is described as a typical game that Bungie has offered us with Destiny for the past few years. That is to say, expect effective gameplay, “incredible feelings with weapons” as well as the construction of a rich and immersive world that suggests “incredible possibilities of adventures”, just that.
But yet, the game will be well focused on PvP, and Bungie announces that no single player campaign is expected in Marathon.
With Marathon, one of the areas we’re focusing on is player storytelling. The original Marathon games revealed story moments through terminals, all in text. But today we have so many more ways to immerse players into that world, both in-game and out. That’s what we’re going to do in the design of this game.
Our design philosophy is to have players influence the story of the world through their choices and actions. This approach also allows us to shape the overall narrative direction of the game while giving players a direct sense of agency and power.
Yes, Marathon will be a Destiny-like service game, with a world full of persistent and evolving areas, where players create their own journey with each playthrough.
Imagine, for example, that a crew discovers a new artifact which, when activated, opens up a new area of the map that all players can explore. In essence, we’re creating a game where player actions can have ramifications for the world and players throughout the seasons.
A new extraction-based FPS
This FPS subgenre is all the rage. Bungie talks about Marathon as a PvP game that’s “never been done before,” with tense moments and “incredible” weapons. The studio also insists on the strategic choices available to players, both in terms of available equipment and loadouts, but also on the ground in terms of tactical options, entry points and exfiltration. An effective anti-cheat system will be implemented so that Marathon can provide a fair and fun competitive experience for all players.
As a type FPS Extraction shooter, the gameplay of Marathon will necessarily be a little codified, but Bungie says it is doing its best to make the assimilation of the concept as easy as possible. The studio clarifies that there are many ways to win in the Marathon, but only some of them require making it out alive. Details on this will be revealed later.
It is possible to enter into combat against the other teams, to just leave the map, or to try to collect the most artifacts, knowing that each piece collected in the game combines with the others in order to create an artifact of higher value.
You PvP and you PvE
The principle of the base game is based on a rivalry between players, but Bungie confirms that enemies will also be controlled by the AI.
What media will Marathon be released on?
The game is scheduled for release on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. Despite a purchase by Sony in 2022, the Bungie studio had promised that its future games would also be available on Xbox and PC, it is now acquired.
Note that the title will be cross save and cross play, which means that PlayStation players will be able to play with Xbox and PC players and vice versa as well.
What is the release date of Marathon?
Bungie has yet to specify a release date for Marathon, but it won’t be for this year. The studio says it still has a lot of work to do before launch or even before talking about the game in more detail.
Bungie must also continue to expand its team, it is one of the most difficult parts of the development of a game: recruiting when everything is still secret. Now that the title is revealed, the studio will be able to offer job offers a little more explicit and attract new talent more easily.
One thing is already certain, and that is that the next time Bungie talks about Marathon will be to show off the gameplay, much closer to the game’s launch period.
