Bungie's Marathon Officially Launches March 5th

A comedy of error forced Bungie to release a launch trailer and launch date for Marathon. The extraction shooter will launch on Steam, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S on 5th March. Marathon was set to be released last year but was delayed in order to work on issues players raised while testing the game. Bungie’s first new game, based off of an early game it made, Marathon is set to launch on Steam, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S on 5th March. The game will have cross play and cross save at launch and pre-orders have opened already with a collector’s edition and cosmetic items for use in the game. The launch date comes amid a comedy of errors on Bungie’s part. As reported by Paul Tassi, a Marathon trailer was seen by Xbox owners. This trailer confirmed the launch date and as you may expect, folks started posting it online. Those budding individuals were hit with DMCA takedown notices and that was a tacit admission from Bungie that the release date was legitimate. So late on Monday, Bungie just dropped the trailer for the world to see. “In Marathon, players scavenge the lost colony of Tau Ceti IV as a bio-cybernetic Runner while surviving against hostile security forces, rival Runners, and inhospitable environments to seek their fortune,” a press release from the developer reads. Marathon was original set to be released in September 2025 but myriad problems and concerns raised by those who tested it prompted Bungie to delay the launch. The next time we heard from Bungie was in December Participants in that test were said to have agreed to a pretty extensive NDA and there has been little word on what the game looks like now with six months of additional work behind it. That doesn’t sound like a lot of time but Bungie has made a habit of listening to player feedback and making things better. Indeed, the ViDoc released last month focused on what feedback Bungie had taken onboard from initial testing. The question now is whether Marathon will find an audience. There is no denying that ARC Raiders has thrust extraction shooters into a more mainstream position in the gaming landscape but will Marathon be able to tempt those, and other players away? Frankly, if anybody were to do it, Bungie could. For all the legions of “Destiny Killers” that have launched over the years, none has undone the game yet. Sure, Bungie is the new kid on the extraction block but it has decades of experience making games, and compelling games at that. The ViDoc and trailer look great and Marathon could arrive to a rather receptive group of gamers, so long as it’s fun.