Destiny and original Halo developer Bungie is going back to its roots for its next major game. Today, at the Sony PlayStation Showcase, it was revealed that the developer will be going back to one of its first game franchises, Marathon, for a new PvP shooter. It will be released for the PlayStation 5 and PC platforms.
The first game in the series debuted in 1994 as a Macintosh sci-fi first-person shooter game but was later ported to the Windows platform. Two more games in the series were released later, although the final game, Marathon Infinity, was produced by another team of former Bungie team members.
The official PlayStation blog has more info on this game revival:
A sci-fi PvP extraction shooter, Marathon will find players engaging one another as cybernetic mercenaries known as Runners, exploring a lost colony on the planet of Tau Ceti IV in search of riches, fame, and infamy. Marathon is currently in development for PlayStation 5 and PC with full cross-play and cross-save.
There"s also an interview with Marathon"s General Manager Scott Taylor and Game Director Christopher Barrett. In the interview, Barrett says that it won"t be a sequel to the older games but will rather be set in the same universe as the original games. He added
Finding those opportunities to nod to the universe’s lore, while also getting to build something different and new has been one of the best parts of developing this game so far.
The game also won"t have a single-player campaign. Barrett added:
We’re building a world full of persistent, evolving zones, where players create their own journey with every run they take. That might mean an unforgettable firefight against another crew vying for the same loot, or a last-second extraction while beset on all sides.
The new Marathon game doesn"t have a release date, and it sounds like it may be a while before it"s ready for release.
Update: Microsoft has indicated in a Twitter post that Marathon will also be released for its Xbox Series S and X consoles. This would be a interesting twist as Bungie is now owned by Sony.