After a significant delay and a rocky 2025, Bungie shared another look at Marathon at the February 2026 State of Play, reaffirming its March 5 release date with a weeklong server slam.
The former Halo developer took to today’s presentation to show off more of its sci-fi extraction shooter. Those excited to see how it lives up to the studio’s legacy can hop in early as part of an upcoming server slam, which is scheduled to take place from February 26 through March 2.
In a separate video, Bungie outlined exactly what the Marathon server slam grants access to and how participants will be rewarded. In addition to pre-launch access to two playable zones and six runner shells, players will be able to take on opening contracts for five factions. Progress grants bonus loot at launch.
Marathon has been in a rocky spot, to say the least. The game was revealed in May 2023 as a reboot of the classic Bungie franchise, but its development has been fraught with multiple rounds of layoffs and its former director being fired following a misconduct investigation. More recently, Bungie had to launch a “thorough review” after it was found that Marathon contained artwork from an uncredited artist, a situation that has fans uncertain about the game and studio’s future, especially in light of the uphill battle the extraction shooter genre has to succeed right now. It was originally set for a September 23, 2025, but after alpha test feedback was pushed indefinitely before setting a new window of March 2026.
For more from today’s show, you can see everything announced at the February 2026 State of Play.
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Michael Cripe is a freelance writer with IGN. He’s best known for his work at sites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be sure to give him a follow on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).
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