Despite Everything, Bungie's Marathon is Not Dead and Will Launch in March 2026
Featuring proximity chat, solo queue, and a $40 price tag.
Despite the assortment of controversies surrounding it being large even by AAA gaming standards, Bungie's Marathon continues chugging along. After several months of relative radio silence, the development studio has finally provided an update on its upcoming extraction shooter in the latest Bungie ViDoc: Vision of Marathon.
According to the developers, who, alongside a team of playtesters, have been quietly working on Marathon since April, the game now includes features such as a solo queue (absent in the alpha), Rook – a mode that allows players to scavenge loot without risk – and proximity chat, a feature Bungie had previously refused to add to Marathon due to toxicity concerns and uncertainty about how to address them (until, apparently, someone suggested adding a mute button).
The new ViDoc also showcased Marathon's updated world – hopefully this time free of stolen assets – and the immersivity features Bungie has added to the game, introduced four of the title's playable zones, detailed the factions and progression systems, and covered the loot and customization mechanics.
In addition, Bungie reaffirmed its commitment to the March 2026 release window and Marathon's $40 price – €40 for EU players – promising to "share more about our plans for seasonal content, a roadmap, and details about when you'll be able to try the game as we get closer to launch." You can read the studio's full statement by clicking this link.
Earlier reports revealed that Bungie caused its parent company Sony a loss of 31.5 billion yen, around $204 million, reducing the operational income of the entire Game & Network Services division, which includes Sony Interactive Entertainment, by 13%. Given losses of this magnitude, Forbes' May report claiming that Bungie "absolutely cannot afford" for Marathon to flop does indeed feel accurate, leaving us to wonder what's going to happen to the studio if – or perhaps "when" – its extraction shooter actually fails.
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