A PvP-focused extraction shooter set on the mysterious planet of Tau Ceti IV, Marathon will see players inhabit the bodies of Runners, cybernetic mercenaries who have been designed to survive the planet’s harsh environments, exploring the lost colony that once inhabited Tau Ceti’s surface. Players will engage solo or in crews of three, searching for mysterious alien artifacts, as well as for valuable loot and new weapons and gear that they can add to their collection.

A massive ghost ship hangs in low orbit over a lost colony. The 30,000 souls who called this world home have disappeared without a trace. Strange signals hint at rumors of mysterious artifacts, long-dormant AI, and troves of untold riches. You are a cybernetic mercenary – a Runner – and your destination is Tau Ceti IV. You are one of many, working solo or with a crew, venturing into the unknown and facing the unimaginable in a fight for survival, for riches, for fame... and for infamy. Who among you will write their names across the stars? 

In Marathon, players inhabit a Runner, a cybernetic mercenary scouring the remains of a lost colony of Tau Ceti IV for fortune and power. Players team up in crews of three as they battle rival Runner teams and hostile security forces for weapons and upgrades. Survive and everything they’ve scavenged is theirs to keep for future runs on Tau Ceti IV—or if they’re brave enough, a journey to the derelict Marathon ship that hangs above.

Welcome to Tau Ceti IV, a lost colony whose inhabitants disappeared without a trace. Rival factions compete for the resources left behind, hiring Runners who’ve given up their human form for biosynthetic shells. Death is but a hurdle in this cutthroat competition where power, fortune, and answers to Tau Ceti IV’s mysteries hang in the balance.

Choose from a roster of cybernetic mercenaries with unique abilities. Players customize their Runner’s playstyle with the weapons, implants, and equipment they collect on their runs. Strategize, execute, and become Tau Ceti’s most feared mercenary.

Originally planned for release on September 23, 2025, Bungie announced that it needs more time and is delaying Marathon, with no specific new release date mentioned.

Thank you not only for your passionate feedback around the Marathon reveal and Alpha playtest, but also for your patience while we took the time to listen closely and chart our next steps.

Through every comment and real-time conversation on social media and Discord, your voice has been strong and clear. We've taken this to heart, and we know we need more time to craft Marathon into the game that truly reflects your passion. After much discussion within our Dev team, we’ve made the decision to delay the September 23rd release.

The Alpha test created an opportunity for us to calibrate and focus the game on what will make it uniquely compelling—survival under pressure, mystery and lore around every corner, raid-like endgame challenges, and Bungie’s genre-defining FPS combat. 

We’re using this time to empower the team to create the intense, high-stakes experience that a title like Marathon is built around. This means deepening the relationship between the developers and the game’s most important voices: our players. 

Over the next few months, we’ll continue closed testing(including participants from the Alpha) to deploy gameplay updates and test new features as they come online. 

Some of our immediate focus areas will be:

 

• Upping the Survival Game
  • More challenging and engaging AI encounters
  • More rewarding runs, with new types of loot and dynamic events
  • Making combat more tense and strategic
• Doubling down on the Marathon Universe
  • Increased visual fidelity
  • More narrative and environmental storytelling to discover and interact with
  • A darker tone that delivers on the themes of the original trilogy
• Adding more social experiences
  • A better player experience for solo/duos
  • Prox chat, so social stories can come to life

You’ll hear from us again later this Fall when we can share the progress we’ve made, alongside the game’s new release date. Thank you again for your patience and— much more importantly— your passion. Your continued feedback will help us make Marathon the incredible gaming experience we all know it can be.

Marathon is designed from the start as a PvP-focused game and won’t have a single-player campaign, instead, with the PvP experience as the foundation, Marathon creates opportunities for player-driven stories to unfold, stories that are integrated with the overarching game narrative in a world full of persistent, evolving zones, where players create their own journey with every run they take. That might mean an unforgettable firefight against another crew vying for the same loot, or a last-second extraction while beset on all sides.

Compete for survival, riches, and renown in a world of evolving, persistent zones, where any run can lead to greatness.

Marathon's gunplay sets the stage for a unique mix of tactical and fast-paced action, where every run is a tense competition for a big score. End game challenges, ranked play, seasonal storytelling, community events, and more await in Season 1.

Marathon is coming to PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC (Steam) on September 23, 2025 with full cross-save and cross-play.