Bungie has delayed a September 22 Marathon update to December 8 as part of a larger live service overhaul that will end the game's "strict seasonal schedule" in the hopes of delivering more significant content drops – on the surface, not unlike the strategy Arc Raiders has pivoted toward.
In a blog post, Bungie agrees that "Marathon needs more depth, more variety, stronger progression, and better reasons to keep playing over the long term." Destiny 2 players may feel a strange sense of deja vu toward this line: "Addressing that feedback requires us to change both what we're building and how we deliver it."
"The content originally planned for September will now arrive as part of our Symbiosis update on December 8," Bungie writes. "Alongside the new Runner shell, permanent PvE experience, and refreshed Perimeter zone, the update will also include a social space/firing range, an experimental TDM mode, and improvements to new player onboarding."
That December update, Symbiosis, is called "the first major step in Marathon’s next chapter." I have to wonder if it will ultimately be positioned as a relaunch of sorts.
"Symbiosis is an important milestone for Marathon and the beginning of a broader evolution through March and beyond, shaped by what we learn from players along the way," Bungie says. This timeline is roughly in line with Marathon's original season roadmap, but content drops will now move more freely as a way of "giving the team the time needed to deliver the larger experiences."
In addition to the above Symbiosis features and additions, players can expect an updated Perimeter map that, hopefully, makes the dang thing worth playing past the opening hours of Marathon. Bungie is also looking to add "the first of several improvements to the new-player experience."
Between the PvE, social space, and team deathmatch PvP, Marathon is looking more like Destiny 2 by the day. It's even got the new-player struggles down. Bungie's flagship MMO ended development just months ago, but it still averages upwards of 8x Marathon's daily peak Steam concurrent player count, reflecting the struggles the studio's new game has faced post-launch, despite delivering a genuinely compelling shooter experience. In our Marathon review, Andy calls it "my favorite multiplayer shooter in years."
A smaller update is now planned for October 6 to help refresh the game. It very literally "refreshes rewards," Bungie says, and it also resets progression and the in-game economy much like a seasonal wipe.
Additionally, the October update will bring a tuning and balance sweep, a new rewards pass, and miscellaneous quality-of-life improvements. Marathon's recent PvE experiment, Vault Breaker, will also be revived, albeit only for another "limited time" run. Between this and Symbiosis, Bungie is seriously looking for a way to ensure "PvE fits into progression," seemingly in response to Marathon's intimidating PvP.
Shrugging off concerns about Marathon's health and its own – the studio has listed enormous chunks of its floor plan for sublease, which isn't a good sign at the least – Bungie reiterates that this is "only the beginning of what we’re working toward. As players spend time with these updates and share their feedback, we’ll continue refining and expanding Marathon."
