New Bungie’s Marathon Leak Reveals Major Improvements

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recent unauthorized disclosures about Bungie’s upcoming live-service extraction shooter, code-named Marathon, hint at significant enhancements under the hood. Reports indicate that Bungie has been hosting multiple confidential playtesting sessions for Marathon, and the latest data dump reveals a new character called the Runner, revamped faction structures, and additional updates.

Initially scheduled for release on September 23, 2025, the game Marathon was postponed by developers Bungie due to mixed reactions during Alpha testing and an uproar over alleged stolen art assets. The team is dedicating additional development time and will reveal a new launch date sometime this fall. Until then, monthly playtests of Marathon are being held, granting early access to selected players for testing new builds. The third Closed Playtest for Marathon, which occurred from September 5-7, has seen some details leaked, despite Bungie’s efforts to maintain secrecy.

Marathon Playtest Leak Points to Substantial Upgrades

On Twitter, a well-known data miner known as Deakstiny has shared an extensive analysis about several significant updates in the recent Marathon playtest of Destiny 2. This breakdown, which Bungie later removed due to DMCA notices, showcases various improvements. The faction screen has undergone a complete transformation with each of the six in-game factions – Cyberacme, Nucaloric, Traxus, MIDA, Arachne, and Sekiguchi – receiving complete visual makeovers and cinematic introductions lasting over 30 seconds. All previous cosmetics have been eliminated from the playtest, leaving only default skins for Marathon players. However, the new character, called “Icon,” hints at potential customization options with her label “Default Skin 01.”

Originally known as “Thief,” Icon brings a fresh element to the game of Marathon with its distinctive talents, including a grappling hook similar to that of Pathfinder from Apex Legends, an X-ray vision mode that highlights treasure boxes and enemy silhouettes, and a drone that can swipe rare items from opponents. From the perspective of the map, testers initially started on the renovated Outpost, now complete with environmental dangers such as sparks that inflict continuous damage. As the session progressed, players of Marathon encountered Cryo Archive, the first playable map situated aboard the renowned UESC Marathon ship. This map integrated puzzle aspects requiring keys and items to advance, though certain sections seemed incomplete and still under construction.

It appears that Bungie has been very committed to their testing phase for the game Marathon, as they reportedly gave out $500 gift cards to players who logged in daily during playtests. The studio is also planning on enhancing the game with features such as proximity chat, advanced and tougher AI, deeper narrative and environmental storytelling elements, novel types of loot, and dynamic encounters. Unfortunately, we don’t yet know when or where Marathon‘s official release date will be revealed, but there’s a strong possibility that PlayStation’s State of Play event at the end of September could be the venue for the announcement.

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2025-09-08 09:04