Bungie to Unveil Marathon Gameplay in Upcoming Livestream

Bungie is set to unveil more details about its highly anticipated PvP extraction shooter, Marathon, through an exciting gameplay livestream scheduled for Saturday, April 12, or Sunday, April 13, depending on your location. This follows a cryptic tweet from the Destiny developer last week, featuring a 15-second video that sparked a global puzzle-solving frenzy among fans, part of an "extensive alternative reality game."

Within the ASCII art of the video, fans discovered "a snippet of footage from the initial trailer," specifically the scene of a runner sprinting down a hall. Another intriguing message read: "WHEN WILL HE RETURN ERROR ERROR ERROR HAS OCCURRED THE ENEMY RETURNED SYSTEM WARNING: PROTOCOL BREACH EVACUATE THE BASE IMMEDIATELY ALL UNITS REPORT TO STATION INITIATE EMERGENCY PROTOCOL 7 DATA LOSS IMMINENT GOOD LUCK, COMMANDER." This collaborative effort by thousands of community members worldwide unlocked the date for the gameplay reveal.

The livestream is scheduled for 10 am PDT (San Francisco) / 1 pm EDT (New York) / 6 pm BST (London) / 7 pm CEST (Berlin/Paris) / 9 pm GST (Dubai) or on Sunday, April 13 at 2 am JST (Tokyo) / 3 am AEST (Sydney) / 5 pm NZST (Auckland).

First announced in May 2023, Marathon is a reboot of the classic Bungie franchise, focusing on themes of "mysteries, eeriness, and psychological creepiness." The game is set on the mysterious planet of Tau Ceti IV, where players will assume the roles of Runners, cybernetic mercenaries crafted to endure the planet's harsh conditions. As they explore the remnants of a lost colony, players will hunt for valuable loot, including new weapons and gear.

Despite the initial excitement, updates on Marathon have been sparse. A development update in October shed light on the game's mechanics, but Bungie emphasized the project was still in its early stages.

Meanwhile, Sony, Bungie's parent company, has been reevaluating its focus on live-service games. Following the abrupt cancellation of the live-service shooter Concord, Sony president Hiroki Totoki announced in November 2023 that the company would only launch six of the 12 planned live-service games by March 2026, indicating the cancellation of projects like The Last of Us multiplayer game.

Bungie has faced its own set of challenges. In July 2024, the company laid off 220 staff members, representing 17% of its workforce, less than a year after another round of 100 layoffs. Additionally, former Marathon director Chris Barrett was allegedly fired following an internal misconduct investigation, leading to a lawsuit against Sony Interactive Entertainment and Bungie for over $200 million.

To catch the Marathon gameplay reveal live, tune in to the official Marathon Twitch channel on April 12.