Marathon is launching very soon, and ahead of it going live on consoles and PC, Bungie has published a new blog detailing how seasons and future updates will work in the upcoming sci-fi extraction shooter.
On March 3, Bungie posted “Introducing Seasons in Marathon” on its official website. The lengthy blog post reveals a lot about what players can expect from the live-service FPS in the coming weeks, months, and beyond. Seasons will last “about three months” and will add new gear, Runner shells aka playable characters, maps, events, and more to Marathon. And Bungie is promising that new content will be free for all players to “access or earn” without having to buy DLC or an expansion. This is a different seasonal model than what is currently available in Bungie’s other live-service shooter, Destiny 2, which does feature paid expansions.
The game’s first season is titled Death Is the First Step and will focus on players collectively figuring out a way to reach the large UESC Marathon ship hovering above Tau Ceti IV. In here is a new playable zone, Cryo Archive, which Bungie claims is part of the shooter’s endgame. The blog also teases that players will come “face-to-face with an entity even the UESC fears.” Perhaps a classic Marathon alien, like a S’pht Compiler? Later in the season, Bungie will unlock Marathon’s ranked mode.
Season two will be titled Nightfall and will add a nighttime variant of one of Marathon’s zones as well as new backpacks, cores, and other gear. Bungie says all seasonal updates will include a “unique set of new content,” including different ways to play old zones, fresh contracts, and new PVE enemies to kill or avoid. It also looks like the runner seen in the teaser trailer for the game back in 2023 will be added to Marathon in season two.
Seasonal wipes are a big part of Marathon, says Bungie
A good amount of digital ink is spilled in Bungie’s new blog talking about how Marathon’s seasons are a key part of how it will keep the game fresh and balanced. Bungie says every new season will feature a big wipe. And it sounds brutal.
All equipped gear, vaulted loot, contract progression, faction progression, and player levels will be reset at the start of each new season. That is rough stuff. While I expected the gear to be wiped, losing all faction progression and the perks that come with those upgrades is going to make it so that every new season is like starting the game over. Bungie isn’t going to make players unlock factions over and over again, though, so once you’ve completed their introduction quests, you never have to do that stuff again. That’s nice. Bungie is also not wiping cosmetics you earn or in-game achievements you unlock, or deleting your Codex each season.
The focus is on wiping the slate clean when it comes to in-game gear, guns, and perks that can have a direct impact on gameplay. Lore unlocks and cosmetics will be left alone.
“Seasonal resets mean that the game stays dangerous, loot feels meaningful, and there’s always a good opportunity to get back into the game or bring a friend in without feeling behind the curve,” says Bungie. “It’s a way to say goodbye to the old, welcome the new, and kick off a journey from zero-to-hero with new ways to play, content to master, and things to discover.”
As Bungie also notes in the blog, as you reach the end of a season, you’ll likely be more willing to use up all the cool gear you’ve unlocked and escaped with instead of hoarding it for a rainy day. You can’t take it with you after the wipe, so the final days of a season will likely be a brutal playground as players pull out all their trinkets and toys and go wild on each other. That sounds like it could lead to an interesting up-and-down tempo in Marathon’s meta, and I’m excited to see how it all works out.
I just hope Marathon sticks around long enough that we get a few seasons out of it. Marathon launches on March 5 on Xbox, PS5, and PC. It will cost $40.