For nearly two weeks, fans have been working to solve an ARG puzzle in Bungie’s recently released extraction shooter Marathon. The end result is likely to be unlocking the game’s next level, Cryo Archive. But before that level becomes available in-game, players will have to meet two requirements, one of which involves completing Marathon‘s most annoying faction contract.
What started with the activation of some terminals in Marathon‘s maps has spiraled into a large, complicated ARG puzzle involving a website, a Discord server, clues, and vague videos. Over the weekend, players were able to progress the ARG far enough to reveal new information about Cryo Archive, the “endgame” level of Bungie’s sci-fi shooter that is set on the actual Marathon ship first featured in the original ’90s trilogy of games. To hop into this yet-to-be-unlocked area, players will need to reach rank 25 and have “established connections” with all factions. That would seem to indicate that you’ll need to finish up “Introducing: Sekiguchi” before you get to have fun on the new level.
‼️NEW: Marathon Cryo Archive map – Entry requirements:
– Unlock ALL Factions
– Reach Level 25 pic.twitter.com/m6NYGv9XPC— Marathon Bulletin (@TauCetiGG) March 15, 2026
Each faction in Marathon has an introduction contract, aka quest, and most of these aren’t too tricky. They mostly provide some vibes and lore about the faction before you start doing more work for them. However, Sekiguchi’s intro quest forces players to hop into Outpust, a very dangerous area in Marathon, and then locate a biochemical, inject it, and finally scan themselves using a medical device located in another area of the map.
The problem is that the chemical causes your runner to take damage every 20 seconds, which is annoying. And finding the scanning machine is also a pain in the ass if this is your first time in Outpost, which it very well might be if you’re new to the game. And at any point during the quest, a player can kill you and force you to restart. It can be a really annoying experience. On Reddit, you can find posts from people complaining about it or wanting it changed. I know a few people who spent hours doing it solo. I got fairly lucky and pulled it off on my third attempt with a group. And it was scary.
Thing is, I think this is fine. The requirements to enter Cryo Archive, which is likely to unlock in Marathon sooner rather than later, should be somewhat of a barrier. The only players who should be shooting and looting in that space should be folks with real, valuable gun and gear loadouts and not low-level beginners running free spon kits. If Introducing: Sekiguchi is proving too tricky, odds are you aren’t ready for Cryo Archive anyway.
