First is Echo Pulse, the Shell’s Ultimate, which will now clearly denote enemy Runners and UESC bots. And while other players can still use Signal Jammer, that will only disguise you as a UESC threat when pinged. If that wasn’t enough, it’s going to become a “bit tougher” for opposing teams to know if they’re in range of Pulses.

The Tracker Drone, often mocked for its unreliable tracking (the irony is strong with this one), is also getting a buff. Along with “improving its tracking strength,” it will pivot to other targets if it’s unable to reach the currently designated threat.

Of course, that’s only a sliver of what’s coming in update 1.0.6, which goes live on April 14th, so stay tuned for more details. And while balance changes are nice, it also introduces new items for solo players and teams who prefer “merciful” options. Will those new Implants promised in the roadmap also show up? One can certainly hope.

Without explicitly detailing nerfs or how these aspects would be changing, game director Joe Ziegler said, “Some of these changes will be likely coming in the next patch, the next set will likely be arriving a week after.”

Describing bubble shields as “too easy to get, too powerful to use,” he also said that knives scale “too easily” in power level. Which is more than fair – I’ve seen players run into bubble shields with a knife and a dream, and emerge victorious against multiple foes. Of course, sniper rifles feel “too strong in all scenarios” and thermal scopes are “too present and dominant,” so they’re also getting some adjustments.

Not all of it is nerfs, however. The Vandal and Recon Shells will have “more oomph to match their counterparts,” hopefully making them more viable in higher-level activities. There’s also some new items on the way – one that “gives Solos a more common option when downed,” and another that provides a “more merciful option between crews.”

What could the latter mean? We’ll have to wait and find out, but Ziegler promises a “lot more goodies in the coming patches.” And if your particular area of interest isn’t specified, Bungie has a “big list of things we’re looking into that extends beyond this.” It will require more time to “figure out,” however, so stay tuned for updates.

Marathon is available for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC, and despite plummeting player counts on Steam (alongside allegedly middling sales), we quite enjoyed it. Whether it will survive in the over-stuffed live-service era remains a toss-up, but a hefty amount of content is planned for later seasons.

This queue will be available until April 8th, 10 AM PT, and should prove intriguing. Outpost is quite the brutal map – it’s no Cryo Archive, but trying to manage its puzzles, obtaining security clearance for certain extraction points, and whatnot can prove challenging, especially for two players. Bungie is keeping a close eye on this, along with any potential issues.

What’s next? Director Joe Ziegler didn’t say, but he noted that, “It’s been valuable to observe the data and hear the feedback. We’ll continue to beat it up, iterate, and update you as we evolve it.”

Nearly a month since launch, it’s unclear when Marathon will receive permanent queuing for Duos. While you can load into maps with a pre-made group of two players, you’ll still run into teams of three. Duos only matches two-player teams together, keeping things balanced. However, with how much the game is designed around squad play, it’s no wonder that Bungie has been testing two-player teams before making it available across the board.

As always, stay tuned for updates. In the meantime, a mid-season balance patch should hit in the coming weeks alongside new Implants to customize your Runners with. Season 2: NIGHTFALL is still a ways off, starting in June, so it will be interesting to see if Bungie can sustain the player base until then.

The analytics firm also believes that most Marathon players—just shy of 70 percent—are on Steam, with an estimated 800,000 copies sold on the platform. PS5, on the other hand, is estimated to have sold around 217,000 copies, and Xbox Series X/S around 133,000 copies. The firm believes that PS5’s player base not even accounting for 20 percent of the total is a notable data point, since Bungie is a first-party studio under Sony.

“Marathon is technically a first-party Sony title, so seeing the home console struggle to break 20% of the volume is a notable data point for the ongoing platform-agnostic debate,” wrote head of market analysis Rhys Elliott. “PlayStation Studios online games will almost certainly continue being multiplatform (despite Sony reportedly pulling back on PC releases).”

Bringing up comparisons with Embark Studios’ ARC Raiders, the analytics firm noted that the server slam events for both titles resulted in wildly varying player sentiment. This has seemingly led to Marathon acquiring players at a slower rate than ARC Raiders, which saw plenty of positivity following its public playtest. Marathon managed to see a 49 percent increase in sales following its server slam, which Elliot notes might come down to the game’s UI/UX issues and more complex onboarding.

“Bungie could have had more time to fix the onboarding process had the beta happened earlier,” wrote Elliott, “but Marathon launched three days after the beta finished. These factors limited the launch sales quite a bit, I reckon.”

As for how it has been doing since launch in terms of player numbers, the research firm says that Marathon has “settled into a respectable rhythm,” managing to get around 345,000 daily active users. Other interesting metrics include the fact that 22 percent of the Marathon player base on Steam has spent over 50 hours with it so far, and 7 percent has seemingly spent over 100 hours. Elliot believes that this might be down to players understanding the appeal of Marathon better the more time they spend with it.

“This data suggests that once the Bungie magic clicks, it hooks players deeper than the average extraction shooter,” Elliott wrote.

Marathon was released on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S earlier this month. Since then, Bungie has continued to support it with post-launch updates. The biggest one of these has been the introduction of Cryo Archive, which features high-end loot that players get to fight over. For more details about the extraction shooter, check out our review, where we gave it a score of 8 out of 10. And while you’re at it, take a look at our thoughts about why the game always feels like it’s in trouble.

Its sneaky skill set works well for those who take a more measured approach to the game’s chaotic battles. With the Shell’s recon abilities on display, the Thief uses its companion drone to great effect, leaving the UESC bots helpless against its nimble movements. The drone’s also a great distraction and a way to lure unwitting foes into the range of a waiting sniper rifle (with the vantage point made possible thanks to its grapple). Or that’s how the one that’s on show in the cinematic chooses to operate, anyhow.

It’s going to be quite handy for whatever Bungie has planned in upcoming content drops, to be sure. If you’ve been on the receiving end of the Thief’s deadly potential, the cinematic below is sure to bring back some unpleasant memories. But for those of you who have mastered the art of striking from the shadows, it’s sure to have you smiling with satisfaction.

Marathon is available for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC. Check out our review here for more details.

However, Bungie isn’t sitting on its laurels. Director Joe Ziegler acknowledged feedback on several aspects of the end-game zone and said the team would be discussing the same. These include its current schedule (it’s currently weekend-only), the lack of solo play, and making Subroutines a more guaranteed Vault drop (which is essential for accessing the boss).

Now, this doesn’t mean they’ll be addressed immediately. “Any of these may take some time to figure out, so I can’t guarantee quick solutions here, but we’ll definitely discuss these topics as a team this week,” said Ziegler.

Interestingly, he concluded by thanking players “for sticking with us as we evolve the game” and fighting “the good fight against the cyborgs, robots, and aliens!” “Robots” obviously refers to the UESC’s forces that you spend an inordinate amount of time slaughtering while “aliens”…well, if you know the original trilogy’s lore, then you know what that refers to. There aren’t currently any cyborgs in the game.

Perhaps a tease for the future, especially as Bungie further expands on the lore and whatever awaits in the Marathon? Time will tell. Season 2: NIGHTFALL is still a ways off, kicking off in June and introducing a new setting for Dire Marsh. It will also include new weapons, Contracts, mods, cores, Runner Shell, and The Cradle for further customization.

Cryo Archive is an end-game map built for a team (no solo options) that’s reached level 25 and completed the liaison contracts for all the factions. Your loadout needs to be worth 5,000 Credits, though Bungie will offer a Cryo Archive Sponsored Kit with blue rarity gear. It’s a one-time offer, so use it to familiarise yourself with the zone’s threats.

Despite offering “raid-like puzzles,” this is still a PvEvP map, so other players will offer as much of a threat as the UESC. As you progress through a run, Security Clearance starts to build, which is necessary to open doors and even extract (with other requirements seemingly attached). Seven Vaults also await, and you need to collect their respective keys while completing other requirements to access their precious loot.

Much like Ranked mode, Cryo Archive is only available on the weekends. What will you be doing for the rest of the week? Farming Vault Keys from Tau Ceti IV’s other zones, with “higher-risk” activities having more of a chance to drop them (though they’re also on the Marathon).

Finally, there are weekly limited Contracts to complete on Cryo Archive. They can be rerolled, but once completed, they’re no longer available for the week. Nevertheless, the prospect of high-rarity items, including keys, means they’re worth pursuing. The Codex offers more permanent progression, including new skins for each Runner Shell if you meet the requirements.

For more details on Marathon and whether it’s worth jumping into, check out our review. It’s available on Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC.

Each run will have a target score, and by meeting this, players will earn Ranked Points to progress through Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, Diamond and Pinnacle ranks. Each has three tiers for further distinction, and depending on your highest rank when the season ends, you’ll receive different rewards like titles, gun styles, Runner Shell styles and player backgrounds.

Of course, there are various requirements. Ranked is only available for level 25 players, and there are two queues – Low Stakes, where the minimum gear ante is 3,000 and High Stakes, where the ante rises to 10,000. Only the former is available for the first weekend, but the ante essentially determines both the teammates you’re matched with and against.

However, there are also HoloTags, which are required for runs and can be purchased or taken from other Runners. They also have different tiers with Low Stakes representing Bronze, Silver and Gold HoloTags while High Stakes encompasses Platinum, Diamond and Pinnacle. Depending on the tag’s rank, you’ll be able to loot or purchase the same (and all ranks beneath it).

So how does this all work? Simply put, hit the score target as determined by your HoloTags, which requires looting items and extracting once that’s done. Bonus RP is awarded when looting other HoloTags or Tag Chips from UESC enemies and events (with the total deemed “overperformance capacity”). Failure to meet the score target means no RP, and dying or not extracting means you lose RP.

Keep in mind that whatever you bring in isn’t factored into the score target. Higher-ranked HoloTags equal higher score targets and more overperformance capacity (meaning more potential bonus RP), but beware: The loss penalties are also higher. At Diamond and Pinnacle tiers, failure to extract means losing the exact equivalent of your score target.

It’s an intriguing approach overall, and even if only Low Stakes is available on the first weekend, we’re keen to see how things work. In the meantime, check out our review for Marathon, which is out now on PS5, PC, and Xbox Series X/S.

The game brings a dedicated queue for duos to Perimeter, and it’s going to be live for a couple of weeks. It’s live as of 10 AM PT, March 17th and is going to be available for about two weeks. However, it might end sooner if the developers deem the experiment done.

As far as matchmaking is concerned, you’re going to need to create a pre-made group with your chosen fellow Runner, and you’ll only be matched with other duos for as long as the test is live. Access it by hitting up Perimeter – Duos in the zone select screen, with potential changes to how you access the queue coming later on if the test proves a success.

With the lack of options for players playing in duos being a complaint about the game since its release, this test is a welcome step in the right direction to address that particular problem. However, do know that there are going to be issues, which is kind of the whole point of the exercise. We’re already pairing up to give this one a go, but if you’re stuck waiting for your fellow Runner-in-arms to join you in Tau Ceti IV, you can check out director Joe Ziegler’s thoughts on the experiment below.

https://x.com/Ziegler_Dev/status/2033633870835593280

And while the game is poised to turn things around with its upcoming additions, like the end-game Cryo Archive, a recent tweet about the studio doesn’t seem to have sat very well with Elliot Gray, one of its UI designers. Responding to the suggestion that the folks who helped the studio garner a solid reputation for shooters over the years, courtesy of the Halo franchise, were long gone, Gray rattled off a list of 40 or so names who have remained with the studio since that era and continued to contribute to its titles.

In what’s a solid way to play good cop, bad cop, Mark Noseworthy, the former Vice President of Destiny, who has since left the studio, backed up Gray and spoke up in Bungie’s favor. “In addition to Elliott’s truth nuke below, there’s a lack of appreciation in the OP’s post for cultural and technological legacies. People pass those down, piece by piece, as new people join and others leave a company. It’s one of the reasons the feel of Bungie games has remained strong for 25 years (even while the gameplay team members have changed multiple times).”

It was followed by a rather sarcastic negation of the original tweet’s intent, and it’s all quite delightful. The tweet in question is below for those among you who would like to check it out. Noseworthy and Gray’s statements are sure to raise some spirits at a time when Marathon’s facing a tricky first few months after a troubling run-up to its final release.

https://x.com/elliottgray/status/2033044069807722697

https://x.com/elliottgray/status/2033044071565111309

https://x.com/elliottgray/status/2033048535676117301

https://x.com/knowsworthy/status/2033200709798396176

https://x.com/knowsworthy/status/2033201206332690903