Bungie’s Marathon has had an interesting development cycle, to say the least. The game debuted in 2023 and stayed relatively quiet until earlier this year, when we saw gameplay in April 2025. It was then that Bungie also announced that Marathon would launch on September 23, but after a lukewarm response to its reveal and alpha playtest, Bungie decided to delay the release indefinitely. The game resurfaced in October, when Bungie hosted a Closed Technical Test, and it has continued building with a dedicated community of players since.
Considering how successful ARC Raiders has become, Bungie has its work cut out for it to make Marathon stand out in what’s slowly becoming a crowded extraction shooter genre. Still, it looks like the team has a vision for what Marathon will be in the market, as it’s now targeting a March 2026 launch with a $39.99 (€39.99/£34.99) price tag. That gives full access to the game, including a roadmap of free gameplay updates with new maps, Runner shells, events, and more. Bungie has also decided that Marathon’s Reward Passes will not expire, and players will be able to purchase and unlock prior Passes.
To learn more about how Marathon has changed, Bungie has released a new ViDoc sharing gameplay footage and showcasing new features since the alpha. Those include proximity chat, solo queue, and Rook, a Runner shell used to scavenge matches in progress. We also get a look at Marathon’s four zones, loot, and customization.
