Bungie to Unveil Marathon Gameplay in Upcoming Livestream

Bungie is set to unveil more of its highly anticipated PvP extraction shooter, Marathon, through an exciting gameplay livestream scheduled for this Saturday, April 12 (or Sunday, April 13, depending on your global location). The excitement began last week when the Destiny developer teased fans with a cryptic tweet featuring a peculiar 15-second video, sparking an "extensive alternative reality game" that sent the community into a sleuthing frenzy.

Astute players quickly identified an ASCII art snippet within the video that included "a snippet of footage from the initial trailer," showcasing the runner sprinting down a hall. Another intriguing message surfaced: "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 message, along with other clues, mobilized thousands of community members worldwide to collaborate and unlock the gameplay reveal date.

Bungie announced that the livestream will take place 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). Marathon, revealed in May 2023, is a reboot of the classic Bungie franchise, embracing themes of "mysteries, eeriness, and psychological creepiness." The game is set on the enigmatic planet of Tau Ceti IV, where players will embody Runners—cybernetic mercenaries designed to withstand the planet’s harsh conditions. Their mission is to explore the remnants of a lost colony and scavenge for valuable loot, including new weapons and gear.

Since the initial reveal, updates have been scarce, with only a development update video in October providing insight into Marathon's mechanics, emphasizing the game's early development stage. Amidst these developments, Sony, Bungie's parent company, has shifted its focus away from live-service games following the abrupt cancellation of Concord. In November 2023, Sony president Hiroki Totoki announced that the company would only launch six out of the twelve planned live-service games by March 2026, signaling the cancellation of the The Last of Us multiplayer game.

Bungie has faced its own challenges, including significant layoffs. In July 2024, the studio let go of 220 staff members—17% of its workforce—less than a year after laying off 100 others. Additionally, former Marathon director Chris Barrett was reportedly fired following an internal misconduct investigation, subsequently filing a lawsuit against Sony Interactive Entertainment and Bungie for over $200 million.

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