Bungie to Reveal Marathon Gameplay in Upcoming Livestream

Bungie is set to unveil more about its eagerly awaited PvP extraction shooter, Marathon, with an exciting gameplay livestream scheduled for this Saturday, April 12 (or April 13, depending on your global location). This reveal comes after a week filled with intrigue, sparked by a cryptic tweet from the Destiny developer that included a 15-second video, kicking off a global sleuthing effort as part of an extensive alternative reality game.

Fans quickly decoded the ASCII art within the video, uncovering a snippet of footage from the initial trailer that showed a runner sprinting down a hall. Another message embedded in the teaser read: "WHEN WILL HE RETURN ERROR ERROR ERROR HAS OCCURRED THE ENEMY RETURNED SYSTEM WARNING: PROTOCOL BREACH EVACUATE THE BASE IMMEDIATELY ALL UNITS REPORT TO STATION INITIATE EMERGENCY PROTOCOL 7 DATA LOSS IMMINENT GOOD LUCK, COMMANDER." This led to a collaborative effort by thousands of community members worldwide to unlock the date for the gameplay reveal.

The livestream is scheduled for 10 am PDT (San Francisco) / 1 pm EDT (New York) / 6 pm BST (London) / 7 pm CEST (Berlin/Paris) / 9 pm GST (Dubai) on Saturday, or Sunday, April 13 at 2 am JST (Tokyo) / 3 am AEST (Sydney) / 5 pm NZST (Auckland).

Marathon was first announced in May 2023 as a reboot of the classic Bungie franchise, embracing themes of mystery, eeriness, and psychological creepiness. Set on the enigmatic planet of Tau Ceti IV, players will assume the roles of Runners, cybernetic mercenaries engineered to withstand the planet's harsh conditions. The gameplay involves exploring a lost colony to scavenge valuable loot, including new weapons and gear.

Since its initial reveal, details have been scarce. A development update video in October shed some light on Marathon's mechanics, but emphasized that the game was still in its early stages. Meanwhile, shifts in Sony's strategy have affected the broader gaming landscape. Following the cancellation of the live-service shooter Concord, Sony announced in November 2023 that it would focus on launching only six of the twelve planned live-service games by March 2026, leading to the cancellation of The Last of Us multiplayer game.

Bungie has faced its own challenges, with significant layoffs affecting 220 staff members—17% of its workforce—in July 2024, less than a year after 100 other layoffs. Additionally, former Marathon director Chris Barrett was reportedly fired following an internal misconduct investigation, and he has since filed a lawsuit against Sony Interactive Entertainment and Bungie, seeking over $200 million in damages.

To catch the Marathon gameplay reveal live, tune into the official Marathon Twitch channel on April 12.