Marathon is almost here, at long last. It’s been a bumpy journey to get here, but the finish goal is finally in sight for Bungie. To celebrate the incoming launch, the developer has announced it will be hosting a Server Slam coming 26th February 26 and running until 2nd March. Which, for my money, is perilously close to the official release on 5th March.
Per a post on the PlayStation Blog, the weekend will feature an “introduction to Marathon’s gameplay, with additional maps, factions, contracts, and more to come at launch and during Season 1.”
Bungie also shared a first look at some special rewards for PlayStation Plus players: a trio of weapon charms paying homage to Helldivers 2, Death Stranding 2, and Ghost of Yōtei.
These include:
Ghost of Yōtei – Onryō Weapon Charm
Death Stranding 2 – Battle Guitar Weapon Charm
Helldivers 2 – For Freedom Weapon Charm
This, of course, isn’t the first time Marathon has poked its head above the proverbial parapet to see what the general public thinks of the game. And, after its first public test, players were torn on certain design decisions made to the game, with a lack of solo queue or proximity chat standing out as especially jarring absences. Then, of course, there was that plagiarism scandal, with many of its visual assets seemingly based on an outside-artists’ work.
So it’s not been an easy ride for the game, or Bungie, or Sony (who is backing the project). But changes in commuication, development process and design choice have all been enacted in the studio over the past couple of months, so maybe the final product will be something that stands out from the narrative around the game to date. We will have to wait and see.
Whatever happens, it’s highly likely that the success of Arc Raiders has built some solid foundations for an extraction shooter targetting the mainstream… but can Bungie’s latest gamble eat into Embark’s huge market share? We’ll find out in March.