Bungie is gearing up to unveil more exciting details about their highly anticipated PvP extraction shooter, Marathon, through an engaging gameplay livestream scheduled for this Saturday, April 12 (or Sunday, April 13, depending on your time zone). The excitement started building last week when Bungie dropped a cryptic tweet featuring a 15-second video that sent fans on a thrilling scavenger hunt as part of an "extensive alternative reality game."
Astute players quickly deciphered that the ASCII art contained "a snippet of footage from the initial trailer," revealing "the runner sprinting down a hall from the trailer" upon closer inspection. Another mysterious message read: "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 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 set to kick off at 10 am PDT (San Francisco) / 1 pm EDT (New York) / 6 pm BST (London) / 7 pm CEST (Berlin/Paris) / 9 pm GST (Dubai) or on 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." Set on the enigmatic planet of Tau Ceti IV, players will assume the roles of Runners, cybernetic mercenaries designed to endure the planet’s harsh conditions. While navigating the remnants of a lost colony, players will hunt for valuable loot, including new weapons and gear.
Since its initial reveal, updates have been sparse. However, a development update video in October shed light on Marathon's mechanics, though Bungie emphasized the game's early development stage. Amidst these developments, Sony has reevaluated its focus on live-service games following the abrupt cancellation of Concord. 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, marking the cancellation of The Last of Us multiplayer game.
Bungie has also faced its share of challenges. The studio laid off 220 staff members — representing 17% of its workforce — in July 2024, following 100 other layoffs at Bungie less than a year prior. Additionally, former Marathon director Chris Barrett was allegedly fired after an internal misconduct investigation, leading to Barrett subsequently suing Sony Interactive Entertainment and Bungie for more than $200 million.
To catch the Marathon reveal live, tune into the official Marathon Twitch channel on April 12.
