Marathon Symbiosis Adds Expedition PvE Mode, Bishop Shell

Marathon is going free again for a week on December 8, the same day Bungie launches the Symbiosis update with the first phase of a permanent PvE mode, a new Runner shell, and an experimental Deathmatch mode. During Open Play Week, which runs from December 8 to December 15, anyone can download and play the full game, including everything in Symbiosis, and those who buy Marathon afterward keep the items and progression they earned. It’s the second Open Play Week for the game, following the one Bungie held at the start of Season 2 in June.

Bungie outlined Symbiosis back in September, and today’s announcement puts names and details to most of what’s coming. The PvE mode is called Expedition, and its first phase is built around a three-run series that can be played solo or with a crew, with no PvP threats and Flash Boosts that shape a build during a run. Perimeter is being transformed by fungal growth and alien life, opening up new areas like the underground Burrows and the submerged Reservoir, along with an encounter against the Tick Queen. Deathmatch is launching in beta as 3v3 Team Deathmatch where crews don’t risk their permanent loadouts, while a new social space called Limbo has firing ranges and a dueling pit. The new shell is Bishop, a fast, blade-wielding robot, and the update adds two weapons in the V17 Flamethrower and the Maverick revolver.

Alongside the update, a Crew Up event will run from December 8 at 12:00 PM Pacific (3:00 PM Eastern) until December 22 at 10:00 AM Pacific (1:00 PM Eastern). Players will need to redeem the code DMA-T7Y-XJL at bungie.net/redeem once Symbiosis is live, which opens an Events section in the Codex with challenges to complete in Expedition. Those challenges can’t be done solo, as they require a crew with at least one other player who has also redeemed the code. Completing them unlocks cosmetics that include an emblem, a background, a weapon sticker, a weapon charm, the Arata Vectus skin for Destroyer, and the Exterminator title. The event can be played for free during Open Play Week, but continuing into the second week requires owning the game.

In the meantime, Update 1.1.9.7 is out today and brings back the Ordnance Heist event from November 10 to November 24, with reduced stock at the MIDA and Traxus armories. The Firestorm has a 15 percent chance to drop from supply drops before and during the event, which increases to 30 percent once it’s over. When Bungie held the first Open Play Week in June, I said opening the game for free was probably what Marathon needed to win back players, but by July its 24-hour peak on Steam was just over 5,000.

Symbiosis Gameplay Trailer | Marathon