Marathon release date countdown – Launch timings, Season 1 roadmap and more | Gaming | Entertainment
Marathon is the new extraction shooter from Bungie (Image: BUNGIE)
Destiny developer Bungie is about to release its brand new live service game Marathon on PlayStation, Xbox and PC.
The upcoming extraction shooter has a March 5 release date on consoles and PC. The game will launch simultaneously worldwide, which means UK fans can start playing at 6pm GMT. That’s 10am PT / 1pm ET for US players, or 7pm CET for European fans.
It’s worth pointing out that despite a recent server slam, the Marathon servers will likely be busy at launch, so don’t be surprised if you struggle to login right away.
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To give you the best possible chance of logging in right away, you can pre-load the game if you’ve already purchased a copy.
Excluding any potential day-one updates, Marathon currently weighs in at around 15GB on PlayStation, 17GB on Steam and 18GB on Xbox.
Pre-order customers will also receive a selection of in-game items, including weapon charms, stickers, backgrounds and emblems.
Likewise, Destiny 2 players can unlock the UESC Echo-type Shell Exotic Ghost, the UESC Rover Exotic Ship and UESC Sprinter Exotic Sparrow by linking accounts.
The game will launch with various missions, activities and factions, although more content will be released as part of the first season later this month.
At launch, fans can expect six Runner shells, six different factions, three zones to explore, a grand total of 28 weapons, plus various mods, implants and cores.
According to All Out Gaming, the recent server slam peaked at over 143k players on Steam, plus even more on consoles.
In order to build on the fanbase for the server slam, Bungie will need to add more content on a regular basis.
Fortunately, the first season of Marathon will include the launch of the Cryo Archive map, as well as a special in-game event and additional weapon.
Perhaps most important of all, however, is the release of the Competitive Ranked Mode, which will become a key activity for hardcore players.
Seasons are expected to run for around three months each, after which progress will be reset.
After high-profile failures in the live service genre, it will be interesting to see if Marathon survives and thrives like Arc Raiders, or crashes and burns like Concord and Highguard.
