Bungie has outlined an ambitious future for Marathon, confirming that its sci-fi extraction shooter will expand with new modes, a social hub, another playable shell and a larger world. The first additions are planned for later in 2026, with further changes scheduled for March 2027.
In a new Bungie blog post about the future of Marathon, the studio acknowledged that the game did not reach as many players as hoped. Bungie’s response is to broaden the experience beyond its central extraction format and give players more ways to engage with the game.
The studio says some players want a short, low-pressure session, while others prefer lengthy sessions with friends. Other players may want to test a build, compete directly, pursue difficult challenges or investigate mysteries across the ruins of Tau Ceti IV. Bungie’s longer-term plan is intended to accommodate all of those play styles.
Senior Marathon design lead Kevin Yanes also addressed the game’s shortcomings, saying the team had hoped to bring extraction gameplay to a much wider audience but had created a very traditional extraction shooter instead. He indicated that the repeated cycle of failure was not connecting with enough players, prompting the push towards additional modes and experiences.
What is coming to Marathon in December?
After the smaller, more targeted Nightfall refresh, Bungie’s larger expansion of Marathon begins with the Symbiosis update in December 2026.
The update will introduce the game’s first permanent PvE mode. Bungie has not yet shared the mode’s full details, explaining that parts of the experience are still being finalised.
December will also bring an experimental deathmatch mode. It is designed as a more direct and lower-commitment way to practise, improve weapon skills and compete without risking an entire extraction run. Bungie plans to study how players use the experiment before deciding how it may influence the game’s future competitive features.
A new playable shell called Bishop is also planned. Bungie describes the character as a high-performance robot samurai, built around speed, ambushes and powerful bursts of melee damage.
Players will additionally receive a social space with a firing range. The non-lethal area will allow runners to meet, test weapons and experiment with shells without entering a live match.
A refreshed starting zone and a major boss
The Perimeter starting zone is due for a substantial visual overhaul. Bungie also intends to add more opportunities to find high-end loot in the area.
The zone will feature Marathon’s largest boss encounter so far: a giant alien Tick Queen. That encounter should give returning players another reason to revisit the game’s opening environment.
Marathon’s March 2027 expansion
Bungie’s plans extend into March 2027, when the studio says the various parts of Marathon will form a “much larger evolution” of the shooter. The original extraction mode will remain part of that broader structure.
The studio has not revealed every detail, but it has listed several planned features:
- A connected system of PvE, PvP and PvEvP modes.
- Rewards and return incentives that support different play styles.
- A new onboarding experience designed to make the opening hours less confusing.
- Changes to progression and the Cradle system.
- More focused questlines and additional narrative content.
- A completely new zone to explore.
- New alien enemies.
Bungie has not identified those new alien combatants. However, the studio also noted that Marathon would not feel complete without the franchise’s famous Pfhor. It suggested that the creatures could return in an evolved form, having last appeared in the original Marathon trilogy during the 1990s.
A broader future for Bungie’s shooter
The roadmap makes Bungie’s position clear: Marathon is still being actively developed despite its slower-than-hoped-for start. The studio is attempting to make the game more accessible and varied while continuing to support its extraction foundation.
That work will also take place amid staff reductions following Sony layoffs, meaning Bungie must deliver the roadmap with fewer people. Whether the new modes and systems can bring more players into the game will become clearer as the December update and March 2027 expansion arrive.
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