Bungie has published a brand-new development update for its upcoming live-service extraction shooter, Marathon. While the near-10-minute video provides a lot of details about Marathon, Bungie fans who want to see new gameplay will have to exercise some more patience.

Originally a story-driven first-person shooter series from the 1990s, the Marathon name is set to be revived by Bungie with a big modern twist. Marathon will return as a live-service extraction shooter, and while some fans are hesitant about the decision, the unique and absurdist art style depicted in Marathon's initial trailer has many others excited. Unfortunately, several reports about Marathon's troubled development have somewhat shaken confidence in the game, but Bungie's latest update indicates that it's shaping up nicely.

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Following recent rumors about Bungie gearing up to announce more Marathon news, the studio released a new video yesterday discussing how the extraction shooter's development is progressing. Marathon director Joe Ziegler sat opposite a camera for over nine minutes and outlined some new information about the game, such as Marathon being an "intense survival experience" where the goal of every gameplay session is to "get out alive." Gematsu has published a transcript of the video for those interested, but the highlights are as follows.

Marathon Director Unveils New Details About Gameplay and Characters

Ziegler confirmed that Marathon will feature both PvE and PvP elements, as players will be plunged into "hostile" environments with enemies and other players. There will be quests to complete and loot to find along the way, and equippable items will expectedly alter the selected character's stats. As for characters, Marathon's "Runners" will offer a handful of abilities that can be used alongside the equipped gear, confirming a hero shooter slant. Ziegler revealed two new pieces of concept art for Marathon as well, showcasing two Runners codenamed "Thief" and "Stealth." These internal codenames apparently hint at their abilities.

Marathon Fans Must Wait Until 2025 for Gameplay Footage

As far as Marathon's development is concerned, Ziegler stated that Bungie has been making "aggressive changes" to the game in the past couple of years after collecting feedback from playtesters and content creators. Bungie was even holding Marathon playtests earlier this month with a select group of content creators. Ziegler did confirm that Marathon's environments are coming together in a "really, really beautiful way," but the character models still have a ways to go. Lastly, the director said that the next Marathon update will come in mid-2025, and that Bungie plans to significantly expand the playtests. Fans across PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC can now wishlist Marathon as well.

It looks quite likely that Marathon's next trailer will debut in the summer of 2025, possibly at a PlayStation State of Play or Summer Game Fest. However, the bigger question among fans is the game's release date. Previous rumors alleged that Marathon could slip to 2026 from its internal 2025 release window. It remains to be seen whether the delay happens, but going by Bungie's statements, it seems Marathon could launch in early access next year and fully release in 2026.