It was very easy to assume that the reprise of Marathon, Bungie’s in-development PvPvE extraction shooter, was in very real danger of not releasing; all fans got for years were vague riddles that assured the game was still being made even as developer jobs were slashed as payment for unreasonable executive demands. Now, after an announcement of an announcement, we’ve finally gotten our first taste of what Marathon will actually be like.
Details have been shared in both press releases and a series of trailers that grant a cinematic setup, a first look at gameplay, and an overview of the shooter’s loop. As mentioned before, players take on the role of cybernetic Runners who scramble on the surface of Tau Ceti IV to find resources and loot, then get away with their goodies as 18 other players in teams of up to three each explore various maps.
Runners can be customized with weapons, implants, and equipment they collect on their runs, and while dying sees your gathered items drop, Bungie suggests that taking on sponsorships from factions will keep players able to stay competitive and that player skill will trump having top-tier gear. Marathon already has plans for its first season, promising end game challenges, ranked play, seasonal storytelling, and community events. The whole shebang is set to release on Tuesday, September 23rd.
Meanwhile over in Destiny 2, the latest newsletter heralds the end of the Heresy episode’s story arc but not the end of activities, as the past weekend brought the Trials of Osiris back and the Rite of the Nine dungeon rotation feature will arrive in a few weeks’ time. Bungie is also calling attention to its series of updates known as Codename: Frontiers that will be due in the summer; more details on what those bring are promised soon.
Another point of interest to mention in this newsletter: Bungie is going to now use its own bespoke automated processes on top of human reviewing already in place in order to mete out punishments for cheaters. The studio promises that its automation has been tested and built fully in-house and assures non-cheaty types that actions against bad actors should now happen much faster overall.
