December 19, 2025: A 20 minute gameplay video and accompanying Marathon blog post finally provided us with lots of new footage and details about how the game will play when it releases in March 2026. We even got details on a new runner Shell, Rook, and a deeper dive into its four maps, and how seasons work.
After more than two decades of detours to new sci-fi universes, Bungie's going back to its roots with '90s sci-fi FPS series Marathon. The last game in its original trilogy released in 1996, so it was quite a surprise when the Destiny and Halo studio announced a new Marathon game almost two years ago.
It's exciting stuff for gamers of yore, but go ahead and set some expectations—this isn’t the same Marathon we grew up on.
Long gone are the days of Doom and Quake dominance—sort of. Those classic series look quite different today, and Marathon will too. Bungie’s new take on the old MacOS trilogy is an extraction shooter pitting teams of three runners against each other in a fight for resources. There’s no singleplayer experience this time, but there’s still a season-to-season story to follow.
Here’s everything we know about the new Marathon, including its release date, playtests, features, and every runner confirmed so far.
What is the Marathon release date?
Marathon releases in March 2026. This was confirmed in an official Marathon blog post in December 2025, months after CFO Lin Tao said that "we expect the launch to happen within the fiscal year" during a Q&A following a financial report, which placed Marathon's release date tentatively before March 31, 2026.
Marathon was supposed to launch on September 23, 2025, but it was delayed just days after PlayStation Studios boss Hermen Hulst admitted that playtester response to Marathon has been "varied".
The new official March 2026 release date was revealed alongside the information that Marathon will be priced at $40/£40/€35, a similar cost as fellow shooters Helldivers 2 and Arc Raiders.
Since the initial reveal in 2023, Bungie's sci-fi extraction shooter hasn't had the easiest development cycle. In that same year the studio announced layoffs, followed by another brutal wave of 220 developers cut from their jobs in 2024.
Between the layoffs Bungie also saw leadership shake-ups. Former Marathon director Chris Barrett was reportedly fired for inappropriate behavior with female employees and is now suing Sony and Bungie. Joe Ziegler, former Valorant director, is the extraction shooter's new lead.
Then there's the negative player sentiment in the wake of stolen artwork discovered in Marathon, which has reportedly contributed to "the vibes" never being worse at Bungie. The art lead for Marathon left in December 2025, but this was apparently his own choice, and not a consequence of the stolen artwork scandal.
When is the next Marathon playtest?
The last Marathon playtest ran from December 12 - 16, with sign ups handled at bungie.net. This playtest was only available in North America, and was much smaller than the last test in October, so spaces were limited.
No new playtests have been announced since the one in December ended, but we'll update this page with dates and other details should Bungie decide to sneak in more tests before Marathon's release in March 2026.
Marathon trailers
Here's the Marathon gameplay trailer
Along with the initial release date news, Bungie debuted Marathon's gameplay reveal trailer. It's one of many the studio published during its April livestream, including an extended look at how the extraction shooter showdowns will go with the Marathon gameplay overview, and a cinematic introduction to its runners.
Marathon gameplay
Finally, some new gameplay to pore over! This footage was released in the same official Marathon blog post that confirmed the game's March 2026 release date, and priced it at $39.99.
In the footage, you can see the new Runner shell, Rook, the promised proximity chat and solo queue in action, Marathon's four map zones, weapons and mods, factions, the codex, and lots more.
Marathon story and setting details
What do we know about Marathon's setting and narrative?
Marathon takes place in the year 2893, when you and other "runners" are fighting for scraps on the planet Tau Ceti IV. The 30,000 people who once lived in Tau Ceti’s original colony have mysteriously disappeared, and few resources remain. What happened to them is a bit of an unknown, but distant messages and shoddy cover-ups indicate the UESC isn’t telling the full story.
The runners—humans who traded their physical bodies for biosynthetic prints—dominate what remains of the planet in a race for riches. Factions employ runners, and you’ll uncover more about their motivations and interests over time. Bungie’s recent updates go into that a little more, and the studio confirmed its narrative plays out through seasonal storytelling. Think a bit more Destiny, and less how old-school Marathon fans may expect a new entry to look.
Marathon gameplay features
Marathon is brutal, even by extraction shooter standards
Our Marathon preview from Tim Clark says it "drips with Bungie's signature shooter sauce," and believes it’ll be a good one despite some obvious obstacles, but it’s tough. Extraction shooters aren’t typically easy, but the harsh risk and reward cycle of Marathon’s 25-minute matches make you truly feel every loss and win, or as Tim put it, "Marathon's highs are mountainous, but the lows feel like you're at the bottom of the Mariana Trench."
The general extraction shooter rules apply to Marathon, with teams of three duking it out until no one is left and ultimately fighting over a safe sliver of the map. But Tim’s experience was a real bloodbath. When a runner dies, they lose all of their loot and don’t have a chance to get it back. That makes decisions to the exfiltration point far more nerve-wracking as runners juggle UESC incursions, puzzles, and bosses.
It’s mean up until the very end, too. Marathon doesn’t even throw you a bone by indicating when you’re the last team standing. It just leaves the team to wait, anxiously. No wonder Bungie expects the typical map survival rate to sit under 50%.
What else do we know about Marathon?
Bungie went from total silence to a flood of information after the Marathon gameplay debut. There’s quite a bit to sift through, including everything from anti-cheat to update cycles, so we’re keeping a running list of some of the most notable features.
- Marathon will have dedicated servers, disconnect protection to some degree, plus BattlEye anti-cheat.
- Marathon is built for three-person teams, but you can switch autofill off and queue as a solo or duo.
- Ranked play is on the roadmap, but Bungie won’t have it ready until after launch.
- Purchasing Marathon gives you full access to the game, including free gameplay updates as the year progresses. This includes new maps, new Runner shells, events, and more, starting with the exploration of UESC Marathon's Cryo Archive in Season 1.
- Seasonal reset occurs every three months.
- Like Halo: Infinite and Helldivers 2 before it, Rewards Passes will not expire, and you’ll be able purchase and unlock prior Passes.
- Proximity chat will be available, even though Bungie initially didn't include it because of the way it enables toxic behavior, according to game director Joe Ziegler.
- Factions provide jobs for you to complete, and also provide upgrade trees and the capstone rewards you earn each season.
- The Codex is a collection of your achievements and narrative discoveries, and progressing it nets you exclusive cosmetics and lore.
Marathon runners available in alpha
Runners are Marathon’s classes, each equipped with a Prime and Tactical ability, plus two Traits. A runner’s kit gears them toward distinct playstyles and fulfills a need in the squad, like providing ally support through intel or silently stalking enemies.
New Runner shell Rook was also revealed in the December 2025 Marathon blog post, but they work a little differently than the other runners. Rook is a limited loadout option that enables solo players to drop into matches in progress and scavenge loot without risking anything they've previously earned.
Marathon factions and maps
Familiarity with the ins and outs of Tau Ceti’s maps will be a major factor in determining the last crew standing. Two of those alien locales are options in the upcoming Marathon alpha—the woody, five-crew map Perimeter and the more open, six-crew battlefield, Dire Marsh.
Its close-quarters map, Outpost, launches with the game in September. The fourth and final of the bunch, the UESC Marathon ship, is a little more enigmatic, but we know it’s on the way in a post-launch update.
What do we know about the Marathon factions?
A runner’s day-to-day boils down to what factions they pick up contracts for, and there are different incentives to play mercenary for each. You can build reputation with any of Marathon’s secretive organizations, unlocking the group’s passive perks through the season.
So far, Bungie’s revealed six factions: Cyberacme, Arachne, Sekiguchi, MIDA, Traxus, and NuCal.
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