Bungie Unveils Marathon Gameplay: Livestream Scheduled

Bungie is gearing up to unveil more about its highly anticipated PvP extraction shooter, Marathon, with an exciting gameplay livestream scheduled for this Saturday, April 12 (or Sunday, April 13, depending on your location). This event promises to give fans a deeper look into what the game has in store.

The buzz around Marathon started last week when Bungie, the creators behind Destiny, posted a cryptic tweet featuring a 15-second video that sent fans into a detective frenzy as part of an "extensive alternative reality game." The community quickly discovered that the ASCII art in the video contained "a snippet of footage from the initial trailer," specifically showing "the runner sprinting down a hall from the trailer."

Another intriguing message emerged: "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 praised the global community's collaborative effort, saying, "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 set for 10 am PDT (San Francisco) / 1 pm EDT (New York) / 6 pm BST (London) / 7 pm CEST (Berlin/Paris) / 9 pm GST (Dubai) on Saturday, April 12, 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, embracing themes of "mysteries, eeriness, and psychological creepiness." The game is set on the mysterious planet of Tau Ceti IV, where players will take on the roles of Runners, cybernetic mercenaries engineered to withstand the planet's harsh conditions. As they explore the remnants of a lost colony, players will hunt for valuable loot, including new weapons and gear.

Since its initial reveal, updates have been scarce. A development update video in October shed light on Marathon's mechanics, though Bungie emphasized the game's early development stage. Amidst these updates, Sony's strategic shift away from live-service games, following the abrupt cancellation of Concord, has been notable. In November 2023, Sony president Hiroki Totoki announced the company was committed to launching just six of the 12 live service games it was working on by March 2026, which led to the cancellation of The Last of Us multiplayer game.

Bungie has faced its own set of challenges. In July 2024, the company laid off 220 staff members—17% of its workforce—less than a year after 100 other layoffs at Bungie. Shortly thereafter, it came to light that former Marathon director Chris Barrett was allegedly fired following an internal misconduct investigation. 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.