Bungie has officially unveiled Marathon, a team-based extraction shooter set to launch on September 23, 2025.
The announcement marks the studio’s return to one of its earliest IPs, reimagined as a competitive PvPvE experience with a vibrant sci-fi aesthetic.
The reveal trailer showcased players engaging in high-stakes missions to extract valuable resources while battling against both AI opponents and rival teams. A closed alpha test is scheduled to begin on April 23, 2025, giving select players an early taste of the action.
Marathon represents a significant departure from the original series, which debuted on Mac in 1994 as a narrative-driven single-player experience. The new iteration transforms the IP into a multiplayer-focused game that appears to draw inspiration from titles like Escape from Tarkov and The Cycle: Frontier.
Community reactions have been mixed following the announcement. Many praised the game’s visual style and Bungie’s renowned gunplay mechanics, while others expressed concern about the game’s ability to stand out in an increasingly crowded extraction shooter market.
“It looks pretty, that’s for sure. But what exactly is going to set this apart from other extraction shooters?” read one comment that echoed a common sentiment among players.
The game’s “cashout” mode appears to be a central feature, where teams compete to secure resources and safely extract them from hostile environments. While specific gameplay details remain limited, Bungie’s experience crafting satisfying shooter mechanics in franchises like Halo and Destiny suggests the core gameplay will be polished.
Some fans of the original Marathon trilogy expressed disappointment at the lack of narrative connection to the classic games, which featured an intricate sci-fi storyline involving rampant AI and alien invasions. The new Marathon appears to prioritize competitive gameplay over narrative depth.
Cash out or crash out
Concerns about monetization have also surfaced in the wake of the announcement. As a likely live-service title, Marathon will face scrutiny over its in-game purchase model, especially given the controversies surrounding Destiny 2‘s monetization strategies and content vaulting practices in recent years.
Bungie faces significant challenges as it enters the extraction shooter market, which has seen numerous entries in recent years. The September 2025 release date gives the studio ample time to refine gameplay and respond to alpha test feedback, which may prove crucial for differentiating Marathon in a competitive landscape.
