January 21, 2026: It's time to start the countdown all over again, as the new release date for Marathon has now been confirmed. It comes alongside a new trailer, system requirements, a voice cast reveal, and one last playtest before launch.
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 coming at launch.
What is the Marathon release date?
Marathon releases on March 5, 2026. This was finally confirmed on January 19 in a blog post by Bungie, but the big reveal was actually spoiled a few hours beforehand by the preorder trailer releasing early on the Xbox store. Whoopsies.
Marathon was intially 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 "March 2026" release date was then 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?
There will be an open playtest preview of Marathon the weekend before the game releases. So it should at least run on Saturday, February 28 and Sunday, March 1—but Friday, February 27 might also be included in that "weekend" promise.
Bungie will release specific dates and times closer to the preview weekend, so best not get your hopes up for a three-day Marathon binge until an official line comes though.
Marathon trailers
Latest trailer
This trailer was released at the same time as the March 5 release date was revealed, and it's another cinematic trailer for Marathon. It's more of a hype-building trailer than anything else, but you can check out more gameplay below, if that's more your jam.
Here's the Marathon gameplay trailer
Along with the initial release date news (the first release date, that is) 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 general 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
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.
Thief (the "loot goblin") and Triage (the medic) will also be in the full release, even though they weren't available in the alpha.
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 only enables solo players to drop into matches later than everyone else 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.
Marathon voice cast
There are lots of famous names in the cast of Marathon, including Final Fantasy 16's Ben Starr; Neil Newbon, Tracy Wiles and Samantha Béart of Baldur's Gate 3 fame; and Elias Toufexis, who lent his iconic growl to Adam Jensen in Deus Ex.
Here's the full Marathon cast list at launch:
- Krizia Bajos
- Samantha Béart
- Beau Bridgland
- Ry Chase
- Roger Clark
- Darin De Paul
- Jennifer English
- Dave Fennoy
- Nika Futterman
- Morla Gorrondona
- Reina Guthrie
- Donnla Hughes
- Keston John
- Sohm Kapila
- Rich Keeble
- Elliot Knight
- Erica Lindbeck
- Piotr Michael
- Brent Mukai
- Neil Newbon
- Ariana Nicole George
- Emily O'Brien
- Lee Shorten
- Jason Spisak
- Ben Starr
- JB Tadena
- Fred Tatasciore
- Craig Lee Thomas
- Elias Toufexis
- Oliver Vaquer
- Scott Whyte
- Tracy Wiles
- Erin Yvette
Marathon system requirements
Thanks to an update to Marathon's Steam listing, we now know the game's minimum and recommended specs. Thankfully, even the recommended system requirements aren't too flashy, so even aging potato setups can get to extractin' like everybody else.
Minimum system requirements
- Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
- OS: Windows 10 64-bit (latest Service Pack)
- Processor: Intel Core i5-6600 / AMD Ryzen 5 2600
- Memory: 8 GB RAM
- Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti (4 GB) / AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT (4 GB) / Intel Arc A580 (8 GB, with ReBAR on)
- DirectX: Version 12
- Network: Broadband Internet connection
Recommended system requirements
- Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
- OS: Windows 10 64-bit (latest Service Pack)
- Processor: Intel Core i5-10400 / AMD Ryzen 5 3500
- Memory: 16 GB RAM
- Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 2060 (6 GB) / AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT (8 GB) / Intel Arc A770 (16 GB, with ReBAR on)
- DirectX: Version 12
- Network: Broadband Internet connection
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