Bungie Unveils Marathon with Short Film and Announces September Release Date

This past Saturday, Bungie pulled back the curtain once more on its upcoming extraction shooter, Marathon, during a livestream. Initially unveiled back in May 2023, the studio has kept details under wraps until now. With the game set to release on September 23, the team is now ready to spill all the beans about what players can expect from Marathon.

The event kicked off with a brief introduction, followed by a stunning trailer that you can view above. As the livestream progressed, some of Marathon’s developers jumped in to delve into the finer details of the game. They transitioned into a more extensive trailer narrated by Ben Starr, recognized for his roles in Final Fantasy 16 and Balatro, to explain Marathon’s mechanics.

In Marathon, you’ll step into the shoes—or rather, the cybernetic shells—of Runners, who are bio-cybernetic mercenaries. You and two teammates will dive into various maps spread across the colony of Tau Ceti IV.

Once on the ground, your mission is to scour the environment for valuable loot and complete contracts assigned by your home factions. Along the way, you’ll cross paths with fellow players, and not all of them will be friendly. Taking down these adversaries allows you to snag their loot. Successfully escaping from Tau Ceti IV means you get to keep everything you’ve gathered on your journey. On the other hand, meeting an untimely end results in losing all your inventory, including gear brought into the session.

The event closed with a creative short film set in the Marathon universe. This cinematic piece was crafted by Alberto Mielgo, who won an Oscar in 2022 for his animated short, The Windshield Wiper. Mielgo, known for his work on Love, Death & Robots and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, offers a glimpse into the perilous lives of Runners. Their brutal encounters with enemies are intercut with scenes that echo the Voight-Kampff test from Blade Runner.

Marathon is poised to launch on PlayStation 5, Windows PC, and Xbox Series X, despite Bungie’s acquisition by Sony in early 2022. Gamers eager to get in early can sign up for the Marathon alpha test starting on April 23.

While the livestream was packed with information, one detail was conspicuously absent: the game’s pricing. A Bungie representative confirmed to Polygon that Marathon will require an upfront purchase, so it won’t be free-to-play. For now, the cost remains a mystery, along with any potential monetization strategies Bungie might employ after the game’s launch.