Marathon is attempting to broaden its playerbase with new offerings, such as a PVE-only mode. Depending on who you ask, Marathon has struck a chord with a dedicated playerbase, but may not have the wide appeal. It seems Bungie is acutely aware of the fact that it may need to expand its audience to make it more approachable and is planning on doing so.
In a massive new blog post, Bungie laid out its plans for the future of Marathon. Among the many details in it, arguably the biggest takeaway content-wise is the introduction of a brand-new PVE mode being introduced in Season 2. It's an experimental mode that won't have player-on-player combat to instead emphasize working together to complete objectives, fight UESC bots, and make progress in a less chaotic and hostile environment. Additionally, there will be a mode that focuses on "PVE, but with a light touch of PVP," though details are scarce on what exactly that means.
For those fearing this means PVP will take a backseat from Marathon, that's not the case. Bungie teased that it is developing a purely PVP-focused mode as part of plans for more experimental modes in Marathon. Bungie noted its goal is to create a game that allows for nail-biting tension and sweaty gameplay, but also one that allows you to take a step back and chill. The aim is to ensure there is a pace of play for whatever mood you're in, rather than constant high-stakes, tense gameplay with big time commitments.
Bungie is also planning to update and improve Marathon's onboarding experience for new players, as well as deepen the overall experience for the diehard fans:
The following is the general roadmap for the future of Marathon throughout 2026:
- Season 2 is on the horizon and we'll be sowing the seeds for a lot of our future plans via new content such as Sentinel and Night Marsh, systems, and experiments around new play modes that may become permanent in the future.
- Season 3 we're planning to introduce a lot (and I mean a lot) of revisions to our early experience, including big updates to Perimeter, alongside a new Runner shell, and additional (no spoilers) content.
- Season 4 we're focusing on building more depth into the existing extraction loop.
- Season 5 we're looking at bringing the whole ecosystem of (PV(P)VE) play together and evolving our weird sci-fi world in new ways.
While there is a passionate group of Marathon players, some would-be fans were interested in experiencing the game for Bungie's tight gunplay, but didn't click with the main extraction-based modes. It seems like this is a direct response to those people and hopefully, it will lure them in and expand the playerbase.
Sony claimed in a recent earnings report that despite a positive reception from players, Marathon's underperformance contributed to a massive $765 million impairment loss following Bungie being acquired. It appears this is part of Bungie doing what it can to pump Marathon's numbers up. Bungie has plans to support Marathon for several years, but obviously, Sony isn't afraid of shutting down studios as seen most recently with the closure of Bluepoint Games.
Cade Onder is a freelancer for IGN's news team. He covers all things entertainment, including gaming, film, and more. You can find him on Twitter @Cade_Onder.