Bungie to Unveil Marathon Gameplay in Upcoming Livestream

Bungie is set to unveil more details about its highly anticipated PvP extraction shooter, Marathon, during an exclusive gameplay livestream scheduled for this Saturday, April 12 (or Sunday, April 13, depending on your global location). The excitement kicked off last week when Bungie teased fans with a cryptic tweet featuring a 15-second video that sparked an intense "alternative reality game" among the community.

Eagle-eyed players deciphered the ASCII art in the video to find "a snippet of footage from the initial trailer," specifically spotting "the runner sprinting down a hall from the trailer." The intrigue deepened with another message that 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."

Bungie acknowledged the global community effort, stating, "Thousands of community members across the world worked together to unlock the gameplay reveal date for Bungie’s upcoming extraction shooter Marathon." The livestream is set to start at 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 and promises to deliver a blend of "mysteries, eeriness, and psychological creepiness." The game is set on the mysterious planet of Tau Ceti IV, where players take on the role of Runners—cybernetic mercenaries engineered to endure the planet's brutal conditions. As they explore the remnants of a lost colony, players will hunt for valuable loot, including new weapons and gear.

Since its initial reveal, updates have been sparse. An October development video provided insights into Marathon's mechanics, but emphasized the game's early stage of development. Meanwhile, Sony's recent strategic shift away from live-service games, following the cancellation of titles like Concord and The Last of Us multiplayer game, has seen the company commit to launching only six out of the twelve planned live-service games by March 2026.

Bungie has faced its own set of challenges, including significant layoffs. In July 2024, the company laid off 220 staff members, representing 17% of its workforce, just months after another round of 100 layoffs. Additionally, controversy surrounded the departure of former Marathon director Chris Barrett, who was allegedly fired following an internal misconduct investigation and subsequently sued Sony Interactive Entertainment and Bungie for over $200 million.

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