Bungie to Unveil Marathon Gameplay in Upcoming Livestream

Bungie is set to unveil more of its eagerly anticipated PvP extraction shooter, Marathon, with a special gameplay livestream scheduled for this Saturday, April 12 (or April 13, depending on your global location). This follows a mysterious tweet from the Destiny developer last week, featuring a cryptic 15-second video that sparked a community-wide scavenger hunt as part of an "extensive alternative reality game."

Eagle-eyed fans discovered an ASCII art within the video containing "a snippet of footage from the initial trailer," specifically showing "the runner sprinting down a hall from the trailer." Further intrigue was added with a message stating: "WHEN WILL HE RETURN ERROR ERROR ERROR HAS OCCURRED THE ENEMY RETURNED SYSTEM WARNING: PROTOCOL BREACH EVACUATE THE BASE IMMEDIATELY ALL UNITS REPORT TO STATION INITIATE EMERGENCY PROTOCOL 7 DATA LOSS IMMINENT GOOD LUCK, COMMANDER."

Bungie acknowledged the community's efforts, stating, "Thousands of community members across the world worked together to unlock the gameplay reveal date for Bungie’s upcoming extraction shooter Marathon." The livestream is scheduled for 10 am PDT (San Francisco) / 1 pm EDT (New York) / 6 pm BST (London) / 7 pm CEST (Berlin/Paris) / 9 pm GST (Dubai) or Sunday, April 13 at 2 am JST (Tokyo) / 3 am AEST (Sydney) / 5 pm NZST (Auckland).

Marathon was revealed in May 2023 as a reboot of the classic Bungie franchise, bringing back its signature themes of "mysteries, eeriness, and psychological creepiness." The game is set on the enigmatic planet of Tau Ceti IV, where players will control Runners, cybernetic mercenaries equipped to navigate the planet's harsh environments. Players will explore a lost colony, searching for valuable loot, including new weapons and gear.

Since its initial reveal, details have been scarce, with only a development update video in October shedding light on Marathon's mechanics. However, the studio emphasized that the game was still in its early stages of development.

In the broader gaming industry context, Sony, Bungie's parent company, has been reevaluating its strategy on live-service games. Following the abrupt cancellation of the live-service shooter Concord, Sony president Hiroki Totoki announced in November 2023 that the company was committed to launching just six of the 12 live service games it was working on by March 2026, indicating the cancellation of projects like The Last of Us multiplayer game.

Bungie has also faced its share of challenges, including significant layoffs. In July 2024, the company laid off 220 staff members, representing 17% of its workforce, less than a year after 100 other layoffs at Bungie. Additionally, former Marathon director Chris Barrett was allegedly fired after an internal misconduct investigation, and Barrett subsequently sued Sony Interactive Entertainment and Bungie for more than $200 million.

To catch the Marathon gameplay reveal live, tune into the official Marathon Twitch channel on April 12.