Today is September 23, 2025, which would’ve been the official release date for Bungie’s Marathon before it was unfortunately delayed due to a multitude of reasons. The world would've been having the time of their lives doing some good ol’ extraction shooter adventures with their friends on the planet Tau Ceti IV.
I should’ve been playing Bungie’s Marathon with my friends today.
I’ve already pictured myself downloading the full game, impatiently waiting to hop into a server after 50,000 players are queued up behind me. I’d be waiting for my friend, who was just as excited to get his hands on Marathon after both of us had grown tired of the Destiny 2 grind. We promised each other we’d be picking up Marathon on day one, experiencing Bungie’s rich sci-fi universe continue on in this extraction shooter title.
Unfortunately, that dream has ended. Marathon has been delayed indefinitely, and Bungie has been radio silent ever since its stolen art fiasco and lukewarm reception from its beta. Insider reports even claim that Bungie’s Marathon won’t be around for today’s upcoming Sony State of Play event. I don’t know about you, but that feels like a bad omen for the future of the extraction shooter.
Back to my daydream, my friend and I would’ve been inviting a third-party member and heading off to do some extractions across Marathon’s maps. We would’ve been fighting for our lives in the Dire Marshes, where we get to square off against 5 other teams trying to look for treasure. The game’s dynamic weather effects would have blanketed the whole map in fog, limiting our visibility. Of course, we wouldn’t have been very good at our first mission together. Swarms of AI enemies would surround us, and another team would take advantage of the chaos, leading to our first failed extraction.
We’d laugh it off and move on to try out the other maps. Before selecting Perimeter or Outpost, though, we’d be raving all over the game’s gorgeous graphic realism art style, down to the smallest details on our guns and loadouts. We’d all be praising Marathon Lead Art Director Joseph Cross’ art here, saying that Marathon’s utilitarian design choices are some of gaming’s best.
We would’ve also argued about which Runners is our favorite. I’d pick Void because of his invisibility, perfect for recon and stealth engagements. My friend would pick Glitch, saying that her design is absolute peak and her mobility-focused playstyle fits the tone of an extraction shooter. Our third-party member would probably pick the mysterious fifth unnamed Runner, the one whom we still know nothing about.
Sadly, none of this is possible. Marathon is nowhere to be found, with no possible release date in sight. It’s absent on most gaming showcases apart from the secret play test that dropped a few months ago. Realistically, Bungie is already hard at work tweaking the game’s core extraction shooter systems and removing any traces of the stolen art that caused its massive internet scandal. They might already be perfecting the next map taking place inside the eponymous Marathon ship, as well as improving the endgame, avoiding the same mistakes Destiny 2 had with its egregious grind.
But since I’m not playing Bungie’s Marathon today, life goes on. Maybe I’ll sink a few hours into Destiny: Rising to pass the time.
For more like this, stick with us here at Gfinityesports.com, the best website for gaming features and opinions.