Rock Paper Shotgun Latest Articles Feed | Category "Marathon (2026)"

With Marathon's release imminent, Bungie say it's got "no pay for power" microtransactions and confirm seasonal rewards will stick around

Mark Warren — Thu, 05 Mar 2026 14:36:25 +0000

I hope you've got some decent trainers and plenty of bottled water on hand. The time to run a Marathon is nigh, with Bungie's shooter set to burst out of the blocks today, March 5th. Ahead of the starting gun going off the Destiny 2 developers have shared a bit more info on how Marathon's in-game currency and seasonal pass rewards work.

Marathon's credits include the artist whose work Bungie used without permission

Mark Warren — Fri, 06 Mar 2026 12:15:30 +0000

Marathon sprinted out of the blocks yesterday, so naturally some folks have already seen its credits. One of people listed in those credits is an especially noteworthy inclusion, with Antireal (or 4nt1r34l) - an artist whose work Bungie were caught using in the shooter without permission - having been credited as a consultant on the game.

The best extraction shooters on PC or: how I learned there are other games like Arc Raiders

Samuel Horti — Mon, 16 Mar 2026 16:04:58 +0000

Extraction shooter is a fussy, intimidating name for what was once a fussy, intimidating genre. However, now, as you'll see below the pool of the best extraction shooters on pc is thankfully deeper, wider, and warmer.

The genre has a couple of defining traits: you need to "extract" – leave, basically – at the end of a run to secure everything you've gathered so you can add it to your permanent stash, and if you die you lose what you're carrying. But beyond that it's surprisingly flexible, and even some of these core pillars are now being challenged. You'll find PvP mosh pits, singleplayer-only adventures, and even a brilliant top-down shooter starring cute ducks.

An experimental Marathon duos mode is set to rock up for just two weeks, with Bungie warning "some things will be a bit jank"

Mark Warren — Tue, 17 Mar 2026 09:56:13 +0000

Marathon's set to see how well it can cater to folks who only have one friend, with Bungie having announced plans to add an experimental duos mode to the extraction shooter. It'll stick around for two weeks or so, be "a bit jank", and hopefully give the studio a firm idea of whether they should put resources into developing a fully fleshed-out version of paired play going forwards.

Marathon's Cryo Archive drops tomorrow and it sounds like almost every aspect of it will be a pain in the shell

Oisin Kuhnke — Thu, 19 Mar 2026 21:48:52 +0000

Well, you all did it, Cryo Archive has been unlocked in Marathon. Bungie detailed the new mode in a blog post earlier today, where it shared an important thing to keep in mind with the new map: it's only available to attempt on weekends. Aye, you'll need to forgo any social plans you have out in the real world to tackle this one.

"So that we don't flood the game with amazing loot": Marathon director defends Cryo Archive's weekend-only release in the name of balance, queue times and player prep

Edwin Evans-Thirlwell — Fri, 20 Mar 2026 11:32:01 +0000

Marathon game director Joe Ziegler has posted a defence of the decision to release the game's new Cryo Archive map as a weekend-only event. The time restriction has understandably left the more casual Marathon players a bit miffed. It has driven our own Oisin into the arms of Peggle. But Ziegler argues that it's important for three reasons: encouraging players to prepare adequately, avoiding the "flooding" (hey, is this another Halo reference?) of the game's item economy with overpowered Cryo Archive rewards, and ensuring a consistent player pool for the purposes of speedy matchmaking.

Marathon's upcoming balance patches take aim at godlike knives, strong snipers and ubiquitous shields, while adding some SECRET items

Mark Warren — Thu, 02 Apr 2026 10:13:16 +0000

Following the murder of a speedy movement exploit, Marathon developers Bungie have a bunch of other weapons in the arsenal of the uber-powerful runner in their sights. Snipers, knives, and bubble shields are all on the tone down list for the extraction shooter's upcoming patches.

Marathon's next experimental mode goes all in on sponsored kits, which sounds great for scaredy-cats like me

Oisin Kuhnke — Tue, 14 Apr 2026 16:05:20 +0000

There's another experiment on the way to Marathon. Last month, Bungie started testing a duos mode in the extraction shooter. According to an update from Joe Ziegler, that mode will be making its way into the game as a full feature in season two, with Bungie "diligently working on delivering that to all of you who are eagerly awaiting its return." But with this update comes the next test: a new mode that forces you into using sponsored kits.

Unlike Destiny 2, Marathon's creative director says you'll "always be able to uncover the mysteries of Tau Ceti's past"

Oisin Kuhnke — Mon, 04 May 2026 10:06:35 +0000

Once upon a time, Bungie were quite highly regarded for their storytelling finesse in the way that Destiny unfolded across many years. Aside from the general discontent in Bungie's current approach to Destiny's narrative, there's also been quite a big stain upon the series for a while, which is the fact that a huge portion of the story can't even be played any more due to having been vaulted. With Marathon, Bungie seem to want to do things a bit differently.

Bungie set a date for Marathon season 2 and ramp up the challenge for the end of the current one

Oisin Kuhnke — Thu, 14 May 2026 16:08:14 +0000

In the blink of an eye, Marathon season 2 is almost upon us. Bungie have shared more concrete words of what to expect in the upcoming season, titled Nightfall, mostly related to how the big reset will work, but also how this season will be wrapping up too.

Bungie are making it easy for you to try Marathon by launching its new season with a free week, right when veteran players lose all their best gear

Julian Benson — Thu, 28 May 2026 14:27:43 +0000

I hear that some of you aren't playing Marathon yet. Maybe extraction shooters aren't your jam, or there's not enough about Bungie's game to draw you away from your shooter of choice, or maybe you're just sick and tired of a certain portion of the internet yammering on about Marathon like it's the bee's-freaking-knees of multiplayer games. Now, if you fall into that latter camp, I have particularly good news for you. For one week only, you will be able to drop into Tau Ceti and wipe the smile of those yammerers' faces without buying the game.

Bungie are kicking off Marathon Season 2 with a free week. Importantly, that free week coincides with an account wipe for all players, so even though you will be going up against people who have had a couple of months in Marathon already, they won't be packing any of their best loot or top level skills.

(It's also a great chance to try a really very good shooter that you might have been interested in.)

Marathon season 2 kicks off with a "PvP-lite" mode that sounds more like a sidestep for those after PvE

Oisin Kuhnke — Tue, 02 Jun 2026 16:03:52 +0000

Marathon season 2 kicks off today, acting as a fresh start for every single person who's played so far with its complete wipe of all gear. For this first week of the season, it's also going to be free-to-play for anyone, clearly a big plea for those that haven't yet tried it out to give it a fair shake. To do that, Bungie will be doing their first test that eases up on the challenge by offering a "PvP-lite" mode called Sponsored Survival.

Marathon season 2 launch plagued by anteaters, monkeys and weasels, with Bungie dishing out free gear to say sorry for the server issues

Mark Warren — Wed, 03 Jun 2026 09:12:49 +0000

Watch out! An unruly gang of animals have been accosting Marathon right as its season 2 update has gone live! Developers Bungie have been hard at work getting the creatures under control, and have promised to dish out some free gear to affected players as a make good.

Following the last Destiny 2 update, layoffs at Bungie are underway, with most of the shooter's team affected

Oisin Kuhnke — Thu, 25 Jun 2026 15:59:40 +0000

Back in May, Bungie announced that their long running shooter MMO Destiny 2 would be getting its final ever big update in June. At the time there were rumours that layoffs would follow not long after the update arrived. Now, a little over two weeks since the update dropped, Bungie have confirmed that layoffs are taking place.

Former Marathon director settles lawsuit against Sony and Bungie, following his firing over alleged inappropriate messages to female staff

Mark Warren — Thu, 09 Jul 2026 09:16:51 +0000

Former Marathon director Christopher Barrett has settled his lawsuit against Sony and Bungie. He filed the lawsuit against the studio after a quiet departure which was confirmed in March 2024.

Bloomberg reported in August 2024 that Barrett had been fired after he was accused by several female Bungie staff of inappropriate behaviour. Barrett subsequently sued Sony and Bungie for breach of contract and defamation, claiming that the real reason he was fired was to prevent him being paid a bonus of over $45 million, with the suit seeing Sony reveal some of the inappropriate text messages Barret allegedly sent to staff.