Bungie to Showcase Gameplay of Revived 1990s Shooter Marathon on April 12

Bungie announced a gameplay reveal for Marathon, a reboot of the 90s sci-fi shooter series, being set on Saturday, April 12, 2025, at 10 am Pacific Time. The revived Marathon is a multiplayer shooter with a focus on PvP gameplay and loot extraction mechanics, which is set to be released for PlayStation 5, PC and Xbox Series X|S.

Reboot’s initial announcement was in May 2023. Predecessor of the upcoming Marathon was a franchise that included three science fiction first-person shooters originally released for the Classic Mac OS, Marathon (1994), Marathon 2: Durandal (1995) and Marathon Infinity (1996). All three games were later ported to other operating systems and modern versions of Windows and macOS after the game engine was open-sourced in 1999. As of the time of writing, all three titles of the original franchise are available on Steam for free, featuring a Very Positive review rating.

The upcoming game’s action is set in the abandoned colony world of Tau Ceti Iv, where players compete to retrieve valuable artifacts, data, and resources, assuming the roles of cybernetic mercenaries called Runners. The gameplay will be primarily focused on player-versus-player (PvP) encounters, though Marathon will also feature player-versus-environment (PvE) elements, including AI-controlled enemies and hazards.

Bungie stated that instead of presenting the narrative through a traditional single-player campaign, Marathon will incorporate evolving narrative elements that will be shaped by player’s actions and decisions over time, with these changes unfolding later through in-game seasons.

The developer also promises customizable character builds, weapons, gear, and abilities, both solo and team-based play modes with full cross-play and cross-save functionality.

After the reveal of Marathon’s project in 2023, Bungie’s fans noticed hidden clues in trailers that led to a mysterious site with glitchy text and strange audio files. Players analyzed the audio and found coordinates pointing to real-world locations, including Bungie’s Seattle HQ.

Later, some fans received envelopes with QR code stickers from Bungie. Scanning them led to cryptic web pages with more puzzles. After decoding, one of the messages stated: “Your journey begins where others have ended,” referencing Marathon’s lore about lost colonies and rogue AI.

Fans also discovered hidden phone numbers that played distorted voicemails from Durandal, an AI from the original Marathon games. The messages hinted at factions and conflicts in the new game. Later, data miners found a secret font file on Bungie’s website labeled “MNSTR,” which contained symbols linked to in-game factions like “The Syndicate.”

Those ARG culminated in Bungie confirming gameplay details, including three playable factions and AI-controlled enemies called “Nightmares.” Some participants who solved puzzles received early beta access. The latest ARG puzzle revealed to fans a trailer with a showcase date after unraveling.

It is worth noting that Marathon is Bungie’s first new project in over a decade following the Destiny series and first major title since becoming a subsidiary of Sony Interactive Entertainment in 2022.