Become a runner in Marathon, a sci-fi PvP extraction shooter as you compete for survival, riches, and renown in a world of evolving, persistent zones, where any run can lead to greatness.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.
In Death We've Just Begun ft. Poppy and Son Lux (Official Music Video)
Bungie premiered an original music video set in the Marathon universe, showcasing the dangerous job of a Runner on Tau Ceti IV. This cinematic was directed by Harmony Korine and Sam Goldwater, featuring brand new music from Ryan Lott of Son Lux and lyrics by Poppy.
“In Death We’ve Just Begun”
Written and Performed by Ryan Lott & Son Lux
Vocals and Lyrics by Poppy
Mixed by Chris Tabron at Rumours, Brooklyn
Mastered by Dave Kutch at The Mastering Palace, New York CityIntroducing Seasons in Marathon
Get an inside look at how Marathon is launching with evolving three-month seasons packed with new gameplay, gear, storytelling, zone changes, and progression updates—no expansions required.
Launching the game is just the first step in a long journey together with our players. Marathon’s living universe will continue to evolve across seasons, powered by your feedback and your impact on Tau Ceti as you continue to peel back its many mysteries. We’ve got a ton of exciting stuff cooking for you and wanted to share some of that with you here.
First thing to know: Marathon’s seasonal updates will be available to everyone. No expansions or DLC required.
Each season you’ll be challenged to discover, adapt, and master new skills and, at the start of each season, everyone will start fresh, with nothing in their vault. Seasonal resets mean that the game stays dangerous, loot feels meaningful, and there’s always an opportunity to get back into the game or bring a friend along without feeling behind the curve.
As you progress throughout the season–completing contracts and collecting faction upgrades– you’ll be granted access to stronger base stats and to better gear in the Armory. Your power floor will rise over time, and recovering from a loss will be easier, as will crafting your ideal build.
You’ll carry over things that express your identity from season to season. The titles you’ve unlocked, the Codex progression you’ve earned, as well as the cosmetics you’ve either purchased or earned will not be affected by seasonal resets.
Seasons Overview
Seasons in Marathon last about three months, and each season will bring new content and features that change the way you master survival, grow your power floor, and progress throughout a season.
Marathon's living universe and gameplay will continue to evolve across seasons, fueled by your feedback and your impact on the world of Tau Ceti as you uncover what happened to the lost colony and on the Marathon ship.
Seasonal updates will introduce new gameplay, including gear, Runner shells, zones, events, and more, which will be free for all players to access or earn–no expansions or DLC required.
A Dangerous ClimbFrom your first steps on Perimeter to the end-game on Cryo Archive and Ranked mode, each season will challenge you to discover, adapt, and master new survival skills on your climb.
Everyone will start fresh each season with nothing to their name and the constant threat of death in a world more lethal and powerful than you are.
Over the course of the season, you’ll complete contracts and progress your faction upgrades, granting you access to stronger base stats and better wares in the Armory. It’s not just about what you loot, it’s about raising your power floor and the options available to you. Over time, recovering from a bad loss will get easier, and crafting your ideal build will be more accessible.
As you master survival and grow your available resource pool, you’ll be able to take on increasingly challenging contracts, zones, and enemy Runners. Climb the Ranked ladder, prep for high-stakes Cryo Archive runs, and secure the most lucrative loot and prestigious rewards of the season.
Then as the season comes to a close and the feeling of “$@%& it let’s ball” settles in, roll with your best loot knowing a fresh start for everyone, with more to discover and a new climb to master, is just around the corner.
Discover, Adapt, SurviveEach season of Marathon brings a clean slate for the whole community with progression resets. These resets include everyone’s gear, contract progression, faction progression, and player level.
You’ll keep your achievements and ways to express yourself. This includes cosmetics (earned and paid), titles, and other rewards you earn by playing and reaching milestones each season. Your Codex progression also carries over, as unburying the secrets of Tau Ceti takes time.
A few other things carry over too, such as your liaison contract progression; no need to unlock the factions every season.
Seasonal resets mean that the game stays dangerous, loot feels meaningful, and there’s always a good opportunity to get back into the game or bring a friend in without feeling behind the curve. It’s a way to say goodbye to the old, welcome the new, and kickoff a journey from zero-to-hero with new ways to play, content to master, and things to discover.
What’s in Season 1?
Season 1: DEATH IS THE FIRST STEP (aka FIRST STEP) is the start of a new gold rush on Tau Ceti. It's the beginning of a proxy war between rival factions competing for power and answers to what happened to the 30,000 lost souls of the New Cascadia Colony. And as a Runner, you’re at the forefront of the expeditions.
When you step foot on Tau Ceti IV, you’ll find a hostile world that wishes you dead. As you and other Runners begin to explore the surface, you’ll soon discover a way aboard the derelict UESC Marathon ship hanging above.
Once the community unlocks the way into orbit, the fourth zone, Cryo Archive, will become available. Prepare your mind and shell to take on this end-game zone on the Marathon ship, where you’ll solve security puzzles, unseal frozen vaults, and come face-to-face with an entity even the UESC fears.
During the second half of March, Ranked mode will also unlock. Put your survival skills to the test and exfil with valuable loot to climb the Ranked ladder and earn exclusive rewards each season. We’ll share more details about Ranked mode when we get closer to it’s launch.
FIRST STEP also brings events, quality-of-life improvements, balance tuning, new implants, a new weapon, and other surprises.
This is in addition to the full suite of launch content, which includes:
- Complete faction and contract progression
- All six factions, including Sekiguchi Genetics
- All six launch Runner shells, including Thief
- Three zones, including Outpost
- Outpost will unlock the day after launch, giving the community time to gear up and unlock the zone at Runner Level 12
- 28 weapons, plus mods, implants, cores, and more to craft your perfect builds
- Earnable cosmetics, achievements, and storytelling through the Codex
Looking Ahead: Season 2 and Beyond
You’ll start to see the impact of your presence on Tau Ceti IV in Season 2: NIGHTFALL. Your activities on the lost colony have not gone unnoticed, and the UESC are stepping up their security measures and responding in force to your criminal activities.
Each season of Marathon will have a different theme and a unique combination of new features, content, and stories that continue to evolve the world and gameplay. We’ll also be tuning all of our loot and progression systems, creating space for new metas and ways to play to emerge.
Seasonal updates will include a unique set of new content, which are the things you do, explore, and collect on Tau Ceti. This can include any combination of: weapons, mods, cores, implants, backpacks, Runner shells, zones, PvE combatants, faction upgrades, contracts, and new ways to play existing zones.
For example, NIGHTFALL will bring a nighttime version of Dire Marsh, where you’ll fight to survive when the lights go out, UESC reinforcements flood in, and the a~~~~~%^&*()_+{}:"<>?~~~. Season 2 will also bring our next Runner shell along with new weapons, mods, cores, contracts, and more.
We’re also working on brand new systems that will change the way you play, plan, and progress throughout a season. For example, NIGHTFALL will introduce the Cradle, a new system designed to give you more autonomy over your Runner shell’s statistical strengths and weaknesses.
As we build upon each season, Marathon will continue to grow and evolve. The game and world today and a year from now should feel meaningfully different as we add new features and go on the journey of discovering what happened to the colonists of Tau Ceti... and what happens when you dig up secrets that are better left buried.
The Start of a Journey Together
Finally, we want to say thank you to everyone who’s taken the time to play and share your thoughts and excitement for Marathon. Community feedback throughout the last year has helped us shape Marathon into something better, and we’re excited to continue building alongside you all. Head here for a recap of what we heard during the Server Slam.
We'll see you on Tau Ceti on March 5 as we continue to expand this delightfully weird, pulse-racing, and cosmically horrific game together.
Gear up with new Marathon merch
Players eager to take their Marathon experience beyond the game can gear up with new items from the Marathon Collection [001]
Additionally, players can still order Marathon via the Marathon Collector’s Edition on the Bungie Store.
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 March 5, 2026 at $39.99/€39.99/£34.99 with full cross-save and cross-play.
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