Marathon

Marathon is a first-person multiplayer extraction shooter developed and published by Bungie, with Sony Interactive Entertainment handling distribution. It is the first new entry in Bungie’s original Marathon series since Marathon Infinity in 1996. The game launched on March 5, 2026, for PlayStation 5, Windows, and Xbox Series X/S, and it supports full cross-play and cross-save between platforms.

The story takes place in 2893 on the planet Tau Ceti IV, 99 years after the original game. A human colony founded there by the colony ship UESC Marathon, which was built from the Martian moon Deimos, has gone silent after alien attacks and biological disasters. When a distress call from one of the ship’s AIs reaches the United Earth Space Council, the UESC locks down rescue and salvage efforts, so rival factions and corporations hire Runners, mercenaries who have traded their bodies for biocybernetic shells, to slip into the colony and the orbiting ship. Aboard the Marathon, Runners find that the rampant AI Durandal is still in control.

Each match drops players into a shared area to gather loot and then attempt to exfil before they are taken out by other players or by threats in the environment. Player-versus-player fights are the main focus, though AI-controlled enemies and hazards are also present. Before a run, players pick a Runner shell with its own attributes and abilities, along with weapons, armor, and other gear from their vault. Anything except the shell is lost if the player fails to extract, while a free pre-packaged kit lets players deploy without risking their own gear. The Rook shell joins matches already in progress with random gear and focuses on survival and scavenging.

Matches can be played solo or in three-player teams, and starting with Season 2, “Nightfall,” a duo option is available on one rotating map each day. Six factions offer contracts that advance the story or can be repeated for experience, gear, and reputation, which unlocks shell upgrades and loadout kits. Seasons run for three months and reset most progress, apart from faction and Codex progress and earned cosmetics. Each season has a battle pass that does not expire, and a separate store sells cosmetics for the premium currency Lux. A ranked mode entered beta on March 21, 2026.

Bungie revealed Marathon at the PlayStation 2023 Showcase on May 24, 2023. It is the studio’s first major new title since Sony acquired it in 2022. A September 23, 2025, release date was announced in April 2025, but after a closed alpha the game was delayed indefinitely in June 2025 before arriving in March 2026. Marathon received “generally favorable” reviews according to Metacritic, and OpenCritic reported that 74% of critics recommended it. Season 2 began on June 2, 2026, and in a September 2026 update Bungie said the game had not met its expectations and announced the “Nightfall Refresh” and “Symbiosis” updates for October and December.