Five months after launch, Marathon's 24-hour Steam peak has slipped to roughly 3,783 concurrent players — down about 96% from its all-time peak of 88,337 set on launch day, March 5. Reports suggest PC was the game's strongest platform, making the overall trend difficult to read positively, though there is no official indication that PlayStation or Bungie has abandoned the project. The pressure now falls on Season 3's September 22 launch and its full PvE mode, which Bungie hopes will bring back players discouraged by the constant tension of extraction play.
Bloomberg's Jason Schreier reports Bungie had five or six live-service games in various stages of development around Sony's $3.6 billion acquisition — a portfolio that was integral to Sony's interest — but 'for a variety of reasons, most of those projects fell apart.' Known candidates include Marathon, the mobile title Destiny: Rising, Project Gummy Bears (taken in-house at Sony and still in development), the canceled Destiny spin-off Project Sunspot, and the Warframe-inspired Project Payback shelved in 2024. The report lands during a rough stretch for the studio, which has been reduced to a skeleton crew amid layoffs and a muted response to Marathon.
Update 1.1.5.4 took Ordnance Heist live and closed Vault Breaker for good after its two-week extension. The Firestorm can't be extracted — extracting it converts it to credits — and looting a Locker triggers a UESC response, while UESC Manifests banked during the event can be spent in the new Firestorm Armory. Bungie confirmed the Power Weapon won't vanish on September 1: after the event ends, the Firestorm will remain a potential reward from Supply Drops on Zones where those drops are available.
Bungie announced Ordnance Heist, a limited-time PvPvE event running August 18 at 10 AM PT through September 1. The multi-run heist tasks Runners with hunting UESC forces in Perimeter for Key Templates and UESC Manifests, completing template objectives in Dire Marsh to forge Firestorm Locker Keys, then spending three keys to crack a Firestorm Locker in Perimeter, Dire Marsh, or Outpost. The prize is the Firestorm — Marathon's first Power Weapon: an enhanced Hardline HPR with a sniper scope and six incendiary explosive rounds that detonate on impact.
Update 1.1.5.2 is live, extending the Vault Breaker PvE experiment in Cryo Archive by two weeks — from August 4 to August 18 — and increasing stock on limited Armory offers. Free Sponsored Kits were upgraded with random Enhanced weapon mods, a stack of Enhanced Patch Kits, and a random grenade. The V22 Volt Thrower was partially un-nerfed (damage raised from 12.6 to 14.4 after July 24's cut from 18), the KKV-9SD's base magazine grew from 23 to 28 rounds, and the Cryo Hatch exploit that farmed faction reputation and Season XP now pays out only once per match.
Vault Breaker's Armory lets Runners spend Tier 1 and Tier 2 Vault Data on kit upgrades, rotating Deluxe weapons, Cryo Key Templates, Prestige gear, and take-home loot for standard Tau Ceti activities. Cradle Evolution lets maxed Cradles reset for an extra maximum Energy point and unique Runner shell cosmetics, while Bungie reverted the earlier 25% Cradle progress reduction.
Update 1.1.5 is live with Vault Breaker, a roguelite PvE experiment in Cryo Archive available solo, duo, or trio through August 4 regardless of Runner Level. Earn Vault Data for Sponsored Kit upgrades and the Vault Breaker Armory, unlock Codex cosmetics, and bring Cradle Evolution resets that grant bonus max Energy plus shell styles. Full PvE arrives in Season 3.
Joe Ziegler stepped down as Marathon game director, passing the role to Del Chafe III. Chafe, a longtime Bungie veteran and former Marathon assistant game director and creative director, will lead alongside Creative Director Julia Nardin as the studio pushes through Season 2 experiments toward Season 3.
Bungie previewed Update 1.1.5 for July 21, headlined by Vault Breaker — Marathon's first experimental PvE mode in Cryo Archive. The mid-season also brings Cradle Evolution for maxed Cradles, WSTR Combat Shotgun and D54 Battle Pistol tuning, a two-item infil limit on Bubble Shields and select grenades, and refreshed Implant iconography.
Update 1.1.0.3 removed the unintended Solo queue option from Ranked on Perimeter, restored consistent Reverb spawns on Night Marsh, and fixed Cryo Archive Sponsored Kits not deploying into Cryo. The patch also unsticks KKV-9SD trigger holds on some controllers, repairs Compiler Ganglion barter options, and swaps MIDA's final Capstone to ANTI_VIRUS.EXE.
Bungie's Season 2 Key Dates post confirmed Season 3 begins September 22. The season targets a major early-game revamp of Perimeter with new areas, encounters, and gameplay, plus a new Runner shell, new weapons and equipment, and Marathon's full PvE mode building on Season 2's Vault Breaker experiment.
Ranked is live again for Season 2 with the merged Ranked mode from Update 1.1.0. Crews of all sizes enter the same Holotag-focused lobbies, continuing Season 1's extraction-stakes competitive structure rather than a traditional arena ladder.
Cryo Archive is back online for Season 2 weekends aboard the UESC Marathon. Expect high-stakes PvPvE extraction across the Archive's wings, Security Clearance progression, locked Vaults, and Sponsored Kit loadouts tuned for the endgame zone.
Marathon's free Open Play Week ended June 9. Progress and items earned during the trial carry over for players who purchase after the event. Season 2 continues with Night Marsh, Sentinel, the Cradle, and Sponsored Survival still available as Bungie prepares Cryo Archive and Ranked return windows.
Update 1.1.0 added Streamer Mode, daily Duos queues, matchmaking countdowns, network preference options, improved new-player matchmaking, a single merged Ranked mode, larger overflow inventory, higher contract faction reputation, earlier Sponsored Kit unlocks, Cradle-era balance changes, and many fixes across movement, Runner abilities, economy, UI, zones, and stability.
Season 2 is live with Night Marsh, the Sentinel defensive Runner shell, the Cradle progression system, KKV-9SD, D54 Battle Pistol, new enemies, new rewards, combat sandbox changes, faster progression, and the Sponsored Survival experimental queue. Cryo Archive returns June 11, Ranked returns June 14, and more experimental queues are planned later in the season.
Marathon's full game is free to try from June 2 through June 9 across Steam, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S. Progress and earned items carry over for players who purchase after the event. The week also introduces Sponsored Survival, a PVP-lite Night Marsh experiment with one crew, backfilled Rooks, Sponsored Kit loadouts, an 18-minute timer, and a final exfil truce-or-betrayal decision.
Bungie closed Season 1 with community recap stats and Runner Level reward tiers. Players receive CyberAcme Sponsored Kits in Season 2 based on levels 10, 25, 50, and 75, with higher tiers earning all lower rewards too. Bungie also reiterated that Season 2 starts June 2 with Night Marsh, Sentinel, the Cradle, updated contracts, and Open Play Week.
Bungie previewed Season 2 sandbox changes across weapons, mods, chips, progression, and Runner builds. The goal is to make the new Cradle system and Night Marsh gear matter without letting Season 1's strongest breakpoints dominate the next reset.
Bungie revealed Season 2's major additions: Dire Marsh (Night), the new Sentinel Runner shell, The Cradle progression system, daily rotating Duos Queue, new weapons, mods, chips, implants, vector lighting gear, UESC Cert objectives, faster faction progression, and quality-of-life, performance, and security improvements. Season 2 starts June 2 with Open Play Week.
Update 1.0.9.1 continued late-Season 1 cleanup with fixes focused around Rook, Warden Hunt, events, economy edge cases, UI polish, and stability. Bungie positioned the patch as final preparation before the Season 2 reset and the Nightfall content drop.
Update 1.0.9 launched Warden Hunt through the end of Season 1. Wardens can spawn at new POIs across Perimeter, Dire Marsh, and Outpost; locked room keys are guaranteed Warden drops; every run guarantees a zone event; Runner Level and Faction XP gains are boosted by 50%; and Cryo Archive Sponsored Kits refresh daily.
Game Director Joe Ziegler reflected on Season 1 and laid out a multi-season direction. Bungie is targeting less grind, stronger rewards, better onboarding, UI and UX improvements, improved matchmaking, more solo and duo support, and new PVE, PVP-lite, and PVP experiments. Season 3 is planned to revise early-game Perimeter, with deeper extraction-loop work in later seasons.
Bungie announced Season 2: Nightfall for June 2. Season 1 ends with guaranteed map events, guaranteed Warden key drops, stronger UESC activity, daily Cryo Archive access, free daily Cryo Sponsored Kits, boosted faction XP, Rook Signal Mask buffs, and a first seasonal reset that wipes gameplay progression while preserving cosmetics and most permanent progress.
Update 1.0.6.3 made map events capable of dropping Prestige Salvage, increased Deluxe C.A.R.R.I. Salvage Crate yields, reset some C.A.R.R.I. stocks weekly, reduced in-run stacks for most grenades and claymores, lowered grenade barter limits, fixed HUD elimination display issues, added Cryo Archive vent protection, and adjusted Ranked Holotag entry requirements.
Update 1.0.6.2 added a free weekly Cryo Archive Sponsored Kit, fixed Rook Sponsored Kit spawns, increased WSTR Combat Shotgun damage while lowering its crit multiplier, heavily buffed AI damage, adjusted the MIPS Slug Converter, improved Cryo Archive vent security, fixed scan terminal reliability, and resolved a run-start join error.
Update 1.0.6.1 increased Enhanced and Deluxe Sponsored Kit daily stock, doubled Depleted Patch Kit and Shield Charge stacks from 3 to 6, enlarged overflow inventory, fixed radial menu selection accuracy, patched a Cryo Archive gear-refund exploit, and adjusted WSTR Combat Shotgun slug behavior after balance feedback.
Update 1.0.6 introduced the CyberAcme Runner Reinforcement Initiative, rewarding solo Runners and crews with CyberAcme Commendations for contract objectives and successful exfils. The patch also added Stay Together, Mercy Kits, proximity chat toggles, new Rewards Pass items, earnable Arachne styles, Perimeter Beginner contracts, faster progression, and broad weapon and contract tuning.
Update 1.0.5.3 reduced knife lunge range and targeting angle, cut melee stat bonus damage against enemy Runners from 100% to 50%, raised Bubble Shield rarity to Superior, reduced its HP, and removed its Volt damage vulnerability. The patch also fixed additional Thief Grapple slide-cancel exploits and Vault or Armory display issues.
Update 1.0.5.2 fixed momentum-preserving slide-cancel behavior tied to equipment and Thief's Grapple Device. Bungie said rapid repositioning should always carry a meaningful cost. The patch also reopened and improved Pinwheel, fixed several contracts, cleaned up Outpost and Cryo Archive issues, and addressed Armory crashes and framerate drops.
Bungie published a Community Comms roundup pointing Marathon players toward official places for live updates, support, discussion, and news. The post reinforces Bungie.net news, Marathon Help, Discord, and social channels as the primary sources for patch notes, server status, and community announcements.
Update 1.0.5.1 fixed Thief Pickpocket Drone cooldown abuse, Outpost out-of-bounds spots near Pinwheel and Dormitories, Cryo Archive geometry and door art issues, disappearing exfil pings, broken contract reroll timers, CyberAcme contract blockers, localization errors, and several crash and kick-to-lobby problems.
Bungie introduced Cryo Archive, a weekend endgame activity aboard the UESC Marathon. The zone is built for three Runners with Runner Level 25, all six factions unlocked, and a 5,000-credit loadout value. Expect six wings, Security Clearance progression, locked Vaults, puzzle-like objectives, and brutal PvPvE extraction stakes.
Bungie detailed Marathon's Ranked structure ahead of Cryo Archive, framing it around high-stakes extraction rather than a traditional arena ladder. Ranked play focuses on Holotags, tougher entry requirements, seasonal rewards, and proving survival skill aboard the Marathon.
Update 1.0.5 (1.008) is now live. New random-rolled implant perks are available exclusively from Cryo Archive loot, including Covert Recovery — which increases self-repair speed and healing consumable use speed while in smoke. The patch also brings economy adjustments, Cryo Archive updates, weapon tuning, and various bug and stability fixes.
Bungie has confirmed an upcoming patch to address inventory management feedback. Stack sizes for Ammo, Salvage, and Grenades will be increased, and new vault filters for keys and backpacks will be added to help players sort and locate items more quickly.
Marathon's first major post-launch patch is live. Med Cabinet and Munitions Crate spawn rates increased on Perimeter; starting ammo in free Sponsored Kits improved. Objective markers now show at 20m (up from 10m). UESC enemy health and shields reduced to ease early difficulty. EMP grenade drop frequency from Grenadiers lowered, thermal scope ranges reduced, and Overrun ammo capacity increased. Also fixes an instant-death bug in confinement events, a shield break screen glitch, the Rook map display bug, and a backpack deletion bug. The Broken Wing switch entrance to Pinwheel on Outpost has been temporarily disabled.
Shortly after launch, players flagged that Runner skins cost 1,120 LUX in the store while the $10 bundle only granted 1,100 — leaving buyers 20 LUX short of a single skin. Bungie responded by raising the $10 bundle to grant exactly 1,120 LUX and issuing a retroactive credit of 20 LUX per bundle to affected players.
Marathon is now live with full cross-play and cross-save across PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC. The base game includes three zones (Perimeter, Dire Marsh, and Outpost), six Runner shells, the Rook scavenger frame, six factions, and 28 weapons with mods, implants, and cores. Outpost unlocked the day after launch.
Bungie and PlayStation Blog confirmed that all seasonal content will be free for all players — no DLC or expansions required. New seasons will bring maps, Runner shells, gear, zones, and events. Vault contents reset each season, but cosmetics and titles earned carry over permanently.