Summary
A newly-discovered job listing indicates that Bungie’s upcomingMarathonrevival will feature seasonal in-game events. Bungie already follows this limited-time model with its current live-service juggernaut,Destiny 2, and it seems quite likely that the studio’s next game will keep up the tradition as well.
Announced during the May 2023 PlayStation Showcase,Marathonis a revival of Bungie’s 1994 first-person shooter series of the same name. However, this new iteration ofMarathonis a significant departure from the original thanks to its live-service extraction shooter trappings.Marathonplayers will take on the role of cybernetic mercenaries dubbed “Runners” and explore a lost planet where 30,000 people have mysteriously vanished. SinceMarathon’s reveal nearly two years ago, Bungie has been very tight-lipped about the game, with only leaks and job postings occasionally providing glimpses into what it could offer.
The Game Post recently spotteda Bungie job listing seeking a Staff Events Systems Designer who can help the studio build “compelling seasonal events” forMarathon. Furthermore, the limited-timeMarathonevents must “seamlessly blend with tactical gameplay, world-building, and a dynamic live-service model.” These small nuggets of information strongly hint at the possibility of holiday-themed activities or narrative-driven updates inMarathon, which very much falls in line with how Bungie has handledDestiny 2’s content pipelineso far.
Marathon’s Player Retention Methods May Take a Page Out of the Destiny 2 Playbook
For instance, Bungie supportsDestiny 2with seasonal events like the Halloween-themed Festival of the Lost, which features haunted missions and expectedly crops up during the fall. In the spring,Destiny 2players can participate in Guardian Games, where all three Guardian classes compete for supremacy. Seasonal events aren’t exactly exclusive toDestiny 2, with other live-service games likeForza Horizon 5also following the same practice. ForMarathon, though, it does signal that Bungie is sticking to its tried-and-tested formulae for replayability and player retention instead of attempting to reinvent the live-service wheel.
Thankfully, it seems Bungie fans soon won’t have to scrounge up job postings to gatherMarathoninformation, as the studio is gearing up to release more details about the game in the coming months. Additionally, some recent leaks also suggest thatBungie may commence pre-orders forMarathonsometime soon, fueling speculation about a 2025 launch for the live-service extraction shooter. Only time will tell what Bungie has in store for those looking forward toMarathon, but at least it doesn’t seem to be very long until they get their answers.
