Destiny 2 developer Bungie confirms rumored revival of Marathon, its pre-Halo shooter

Marathon
(Image credit: Bungie)

We finally know what Bungie is working on besides Destiny 2: a revival of Marathon, the sci-fi FPS it built before even the original Halo days, as a PvP extraction shooter coming to PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC with full cross-play and cross-save.  

Confirming leaks from October, Marathon was unveiled during today's live PlayStation Showcase. "A sci-fi PvP extraction shooter, Marathon will find players engaging one another as cybernetic mercenaries known as Runners, exploring a lost colony on the planet of Tau Ceti IV in search of riches, fame, and infamy," Bungie editorial lead Brian Ekberg explains in a PlayStation blog post

"A massive ghost ship hangs in low orbit over a lost colony on Tau Ceti IV," the official website teases. "The 30,000 souls who call this place home have disappeared without a trace. Strange signals hint at mysterious artifacts, long-dormant ai, and troves of untold riches. You are a Runner, venturing into the unknown in a fight for fame… and infamy. Who among you will write their names across the stars?" 

Marathon will be Bungie's first new game since work on Destiny started over a decade ago. Former Destiny art director Christopher Barrett, now game director on Marathon, says "it’s not a direct sequel to the originals, but something that certainly belongs in the same universe and that feels like a Bungie game." 

Importantly, Barrett confirms Marathon won't have any sort of single-player campaign. "With the PvP experience as our foundation, we’re creating opportunities for player-driven stories to unfold, stories that are integrated with the overarching game narrative," he says. "We’re building a world full of persistent, evolving zones, where players create their own journey with every run they take." 

General manager Scott Taylor repeatedly asserts that there's still a lot of work to be done on Marathon, and my read is that we probably won't see this thing until 2025 at the earliest, though that's a soft estimate at best. 

Bungie's also unveiled the showcase for Destiny 2: The Final Shape, and it looks like Cayde is back.  

Austin Wood

Austin freelanced for the likes of PC Gamer, Eurogamer, IGN, Sports Illustrated, and more while finishing his journalism degree, and he's been with GamesRadar+ since 2019. They've yet to realize that his position as a senior writer is just a cover up for his career-spanning Destiny column, and he's kept the ruse going with a focus on news and the occasional feature, all while playing as many roguelikes as possible.