New game, old name
You may recall that Bungie had Marathon before to Destiny and prior to Halo. After almost thirty years, Marathon is returning thanks to Bungie's revival of the brand for its upcoming PvP sci-fi extraction shooter.
During today's PlayStation Showcase, the team unveiled Marathon, a brand-new project. As robotic mercenaries known as Runners, gamers will face off against one another in a fight for wealth and notoriety.
"How does this relate to the original Marathon?" is a legitimate, if a bit ambiguous, inquiry. Game director Christopher Barrett elaborates on the connection between this and the 1994–1996 Marathon series over on the PlayStation Blog.
"From the beginning, we have wanted to honor the original Marathon games, especially the mythology, story, and world themes," Barrett said. "We have a tremendous amount of respect for those games." Nevertheless, we have a fresh idea for this game. Although it isn't a straight successor to the first ones, it feels like a Bungie game and fits in the same world. One of the nicest things about making this game so far has been seeing those chances to give a reference to the history of the world while yet getting to create something fresh and original.
It's thus both new and old at the same time; it draws inspiration from the classic while combining modern ideas. Barrett continues, "Bungie is creating content for both newcomers and fans who have been waiting for additional stories in the Marathonuniverse for years." There will reportedly be "deep cuts" and allusions as well.
The race is intense
.A few additional details about Marathon are confirmed by Barrett and general manager Scott Taylor on the PlayStation Blog. It is being developed on the PC, Xbox Series X|S, and PlayStation 5. This is a player-versus-player game without a single-player story. Nevertheless, there will be chances for "player-driven stories" to develop in Marathon. These seem to be the kinds of stories—the "share around the water cooler" kind—that come from intense gunfights and extractions.
However, they also want player choices to have an impact on the persistent zones and the greater universe. They provide the example of a crew discovering an unknown relic, which would allow gamers to explore a new region of the world. "Basically, we're making a game where, as each season progresses, player choices can affect both the world and other players," explains Barrett.
There are no specifics about a launch timeframe or anything like, but according to Taylor, Bungie will be able to showcase gameplay and be "much closer" to launch the next time we hear about Marathon. By then, we'll find out what Bungie has planned for its old-new shooter.