Bungie has revealed that Marathon is slated to get two new, experimental PvE modes going into season two, which is named Nightfall. It lands on June 2, expanding the game’s content base and adding new ways to play, but the team at Bungie is using the opportunity to flesh out more of the core game.
With that being said, they’re looking at ‘fun and mind-bending content’, new and updated zones, fresh Runner shells, and PvE-focused modes. This will arguably open up a new audience for Marathon, which has been struggling with player retention of late.
Marathon is Going PvE
Around Marathon’s launch, Bungie stressed that it didn’t want a PvE-only mode because it takes away from the unpredictability and inherent volatility of a PvP-focused game. As this was always designed to be a ‘social’ extraction shooter, they always wanted to maintain that player presence.
However, with player counts dropping and many in the extraction world desiring a PvE experience, Bungie has opted to do just that.
In season two, Bungie will focus more on PvE contributions, adding two modes, one at the opening of the season and another in the latter half.
The first will be an experimental mode that will be considered a ‘PvE-lite’ offering, focusing on player-vs-environment combat while still offering a light touch of PvP. In the latter half of the season, a pure PvE mode will drop, allowing players to complete objectives together and progress across matches as a unit.
The team explained:
We’ll continue to run experimental queues beyond these two offerings for Season 2 and beyond, testing the waters around other mechanics (such as perhaps a more purely PVP-focused mode) with the potential for these to become part of the core game loop or permanent new ways to play.
It was then promised that season three will bring a huge revision of the early-game experience, adjusting what was available at launch based on the stacks of feedback received since the game came out.
With that being said, the next few seasons were outlined:
- Season two is about future content plans and ‘sowing the seeds’ of what comes next with Sentinel and Night Marsh
- Season three is based on revision and updating what exists, and adding a new Runner shell
- Season four will be about building more depth into the game’s extraction loop
- And season five will be focused on bringing the PvPvE extraction world together to ‘evolve the weird sci-fi world in new ways’
So, plenty is coming, but whether the wider audience will be there to actively receive it is another question entirely.
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Grant has been gaming for 30+ years and in the industry for 10+. You'll probably find him playing a post-apocalyptic game or an extraction shooter somewhere.
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