Bungie has released a cinematic trailer for Marathon Season 2, showing off a rather spooky atmosphere for the new Night Marsh map, a new Runner shell Sentinel and plenty more. Marathon Season 2 is called Nightfall and it will launch next week on 2nd June.
The trailer blurb lays it out quite simply: “Featuring a new map with Night Marsh, a new Runner shell Sentinel, the Cradle, new weapons, progression improvements, and more.”
Ahead of Season 2, the team at Bungie have sought to clean up loose ends from Season 1 in preparation. Update 1.0.9.1 is now live with the following patch notes:
Marathon Update 1.0.9.1
Item Economy
- Fixed an issue where loot previews could briefly show the wrong item when inspecting nearby loot.
- Improved clarity for item-related UI messaging in specific flows.
Runners
- Rook:
- Fixed an issue that would cause Rook to spawn inside of shipping containers on Dire Marsh. Their bloodlust has been unleashed once again.
User Interface
- Fixed several issues causing UI elements, notifications or interface states to display incorrect or outdated information.
Zones
Perimeter
- Fixed an issue in Hauler where part of the map could disappear at certain distances.
Cryo Archive
- Fixed an issue that would allow Crews to get in the airlock after the Compiler has already been engaged.
Stability
- Fixed a variety of issues that could lead to crashes, disconnects, or general instability.
Marathon is now the primary focus for Bungie going forward, following the announcement that the next update for Destiny 2 will be its last, and reports that there is no major new project (Destiny 3 or otherwise) that this team is able to transition into making. So, Bungie has been moving people over to the Marathon team, while everyone is now braced for the prospect of major layoffs at the company.
This puts a lot more pressure and emphasis on needing to grow Marathon, which has certainly found a niche, but remains far from the sales hopes and expectations that Bungie and Sony would have had.
It is good, though. In our Marathon review, Jim said, “Oozing with style and buoyed by Bungie’s consistently slick gunplay, Marathon has already carved out a small fiefdom in the fickle world of extraction shooters. Unforgiving but rarely unfair, that risk/reward gameplay loop will prove endlessly enjoyable to some, though casual FPS fans who want to see guaranteed progression in exchange for the time they put in will find themselves well out of their comfort zone. Marathon’s staying power hinges entirely on post-launch support and the allure of new content. If the maze-like, puzzle-filled Cryo Archive is anything to go by, we could see Bungie rolling out a creative gauntlet of new gameplay experiences.”
