Bungie leak says Marathon will be the “ultimate live service” game

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With Sony looking to expand their live service catalogue and the recent acquisition of Bungie, Marathon looks like it’s set up to be the “ultimate live service” game for PlayStation. Despite both Sony and Bungie’s track records, some players are still a little sceptical about the game which looks to be taking some inspiration from the immensely popular Escape from Tarkov.

Shown at the most recent PlayStation Showcase, Marathon is set to be a three-person extraction shooter which shares some similarities with Escape from Tarkov. However, according to Insider Gaming, you can still enter matches in a solo or duo capacity, but you will still be pitted against other players in groups of three.

Alongside these reports, it appears that Bungie is aiming for Marathon to be the “ultimate live service” game. With this in mind, it’s been reported that the Marathon team is looking to implement minimal load times. One source told Insider Gaming that they’re looking to target single-digit load times between “Readying Up” and playing a match. Notably, Marathon’s gameplay seems to be very quick with the reported gameplay loop as follows:

  • Chose your missions (to complete in the game)
  • Buy/Chose your loadout/Perks/Abilities/Gear
  • Drop into a server
  • Hunt for loot/Complete missions/Explore and find secrets
  • Extract
  • Spend XP on Updates
  • Repeat

While there are undoubtedly many players interested to see Bungie’s next project some players on Reddit have been questioning Bungie’s decision to take an IP they had previously worked with in the 90s and change it into a completely different game. User, theconman554 said, “I don’t get why was this called “Marathon” ? a niche 90s fps mostly known for its insane lore and singleplayer component.” Another user also commented, “Wtf does this have to do with “Marathon”? This sounds like it’s Marathon in name only.” Using a preexisting IP for a different project isn’t completely out of the ordinary. This has been the case with other games such as Prey (2017), which differs heavily from the previously released Prey (2006).

Whether this iteration of Marathon will share some connective tissue with the original is still yet to be seen. While Marathon hasn’t received a release date yet it is set to launch on PlayStation, Xbox and PC. It’ll also be the first major release for the IP since the original Marathon 2 was published on iOS back in 2011.

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About the Author

Odhrán Johnson

Odhrán Johnson is a Freelance News Writer for VideoGamer. He loves indie games and everything to do with Mass Effect.

Marathon

  • Platform(s): PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X
  • Genre(s): First-Person Shooter, Shooter