Bungie's Marathon Abandons Halo Roots for a Brutal New Extraction Shooter

Bungie has launched Marathon, a new extraction shooter that breaks from the studio's past. Unlike Halo or Destiny, this game focuses on high-stakes PvPvE combat with a hardcore audience in mind. Players face brutal penalties for death, including lost loot and setbacks to their builds.

The title runs on Bungie's in-house Tiger Engine, previously used for Destiny 2. Early impressions suggest a mixed reception, with a Metascore of 72—the lowest for a Bungie release—though it briefly drew 62,000 concurrent players at peak.

The game's design prioritises intensity over accessibility. Matches feature short time-to-kill, modular weapons, and faction systems, creating a punishing experience. Critics highlight a steep learning curve and monetisation concerns, but the live-service model aims to keep tactical players engaged on the planet Tau Ceti IV.

Performance options are flexible. Out of the box, Marathon supports DLSS 4, FSR 3.1, and XeSS for upscaling. Players can also enable DLSS 4.5 or FSR 4 through Nvidia and AMD drivers, though frame generation and ray tracing are absent. The visuals lean toward function over spectacle, with bright colours, simple animations, and basic lighting.

Hardware demands remain modest compared to other AAA titles. Benchmarks come from the Server Slam test build, which is free but not final. The engine's efficiency helps, but the game's appeal hinges more on mechanics than graphics.

This shift marks a clear departure from Bungie's earlier works. Where Destiny and Halo catered to broader audiences with progression systems and cooperative play, Marathon targets a niche—those who thrive on high-risk, high-reward gameplay.

The game's technical foundation is solid, with multiple upscaling tools to aid performance. Its success will depend on whether the hardcore audience embraces its unforgiving design. For now, Marathon stands as Bungie's most divisive release yet, balancing innovation with criticism over its steep challenges and monetisation.