Marathon is a science fiction first-person shooter series that started in the 1990s. In 2023, Bungie announced it would revive that series with a new Marathon game. That game was expected to launch last year before Bungie confirmed a release delay. Now, Bungie has announced that Marathon is available for pre-order with a new March release date confirmed.
Bungie has released a new Marathon trailer confirming the game is now available for pre-ordering. That trailer reveals that March 5, 2026, is now the scheduled release date for the game. It also showcases the Marathon Collector’s Edition package, which includes a small-scale statue of the Thief, a Sekiguchi WEAVEworm, runner art postcards, and other bonus cosmetics.
For those unfamiliar with the Marathon series, it is a franchise set in a giant interstellar colony ship universe. Players can move through futuristic environments populated with alien lifeforms. In the original single-player game, for Mac OS, players played through non-linear levels in sequence by controlling an unnamed security officer. That first game was a hit and even a spiritual predecessor to Bungie’s Halo series.
Halo is what Bungie is mostly renowned for, and the Marathon series has been sidelined for decades. The upcoming Marathon is reviving a seemingly forgotten game series in the form of a sci-fi PvP extraction shooter. Players control Runners (cybernetic bodies) in hostile zones where they can scavenge for loot and resources. It includes Runner Shell classes that players can choose before matches, such as Recon, Thief, Triage, and Destroyer. Squads consist of up to three players, but the game also includes duo and solo match modes.
The new Marathon game is set on the Tau Ceti IV planet, which includes a huge, derelict colony ship for players to explore. One mystery surrounding the colony is what happened to its original inhabitants. Seasonal storytelling will likely reveal more backstory details about the abandoned United Space Earth Command colony.
The trailer reveals a little more of Tau Ceti IV and the abandoned USEC colony. That shows players approaching the USEC colony in very stormy and wet weather conditions. It shows players fighting robotic-looking enemies with scoped guns, grappling hooks, and knives. We can also see that the new Marathon has a Graphic Realism visual style, blending realistic proportions with a stylized, vibrant color palette to give the game a sci-fi look.
Extraction shooters are the new big thing in PC and console gaming, with Arc Raiders and Escape from Tarkov currently at the forefront of the genre. Now, Bungie is getting in on the extraction shooter action with its upcoming Marathon game. The new Marathon game will revitalise a franchise that had seemingly slipped into gaming history. It will be available for Windows PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S, retailing at about $40.
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