Try Marathon for free as veterans lose their best gear

Marathon is a competitive first-person extraction shooter developed and published by Bungie, the studio behind the Destiny series and the original Marathon trilogy. Scheduled for a 2025 release on PC, Xbox Series X/S, and PlayStation 5, the game transitions the classic sci-fi series into a modern PvPvE experience. The game is designed to solve the problem of stagnant match-to-match gameplay by introducing a persistent economy where players risk their accumulated gear in every raid. As reported by Rock Paper Shotgun, Bungie engineered a specific market strategy for the game's new season: a free week for new players that runs concurrently with a full gear and progression wipe for veteran accounts.

Key Facts

Marathon is an upcoming competitive first-person extraction shooter set to release in 2025, developed by Bungie, featuring a full gear wipe at the start of each new season.

What Is the Core Gameplay Loop of Marathon?

Marathon is an extraction shooter where players enter a hostile map, fight AI enemies and other player teams, and attempt to extract with valuable loot. The risk of permanent gear loss upon death incentivizes deep strategic planning over direct run-and-gun tactics.

Rock Paper Shotgun "The launch of a new season is a natural point for new players to jump into Marathon, Bungie believes, which is why the new season will begin with a free week."

Marathon is an extraction shooter where player survivability is directly tied to the gear acquired in the previous successful mission.

How Does the Seasonal Gear Wipe Work for Marathon?

The gear wipe resets every weapon, armor piece, and progression level in the player's inventory at the start of a new Marathon season. This mechanic ensures no long-term player retains a competitive advantage against returning or new players, functionally leveling the entire player base at the start of a cycle.

The gear wipe ensures that no player begins a new season with a technological advantage over the player base.

When Is the Marathon Free Week?

Bungie has announced a free week for Marathon co-inciding with the launch of its new season, but has not yet specified a concrete date for this event. The free trial allows full access to the new season content for a limited period.

Bungie designed the free week to capture the maximum number of new accounts by aligning it with the natural leveling point of a seasonal reset.

Who Is the Free Week Designed For?

The free week is strategically targeted at players who are interested in the extraction shooter genre but hesitant to invest directly due to the steep competitive curve. By wiping veteran gear simultaneously, Bungie ensures the free trial offers a genuine representation of the game's starting conditions.

The ideal target for the free week is the competitive gamer who has been hesitant to invest time and money into an extraction shooter because of the steep barrier to entry created by accumulated veteran gear.

Common Questions

Does the free week in Marathon allow me to keep my progress when it ends?

Yes. For the full duration of the free week, players will earn full seasonal progression. However, this progress is subject to the same seasonal wipe rules as paid accounts at the conclusion of that season.

Why is Bungie wiping veteran gear at the same time as the free week?

According to the Rock Paper Shotgun report on Bungie's strategy, the simultaneous wipe and free week prevent established players from dominating new trial users, creating a fair and welcoming introduction to the game.

Does Marathon require a console subscription to play the free week?

Bungie has not specifically stated the subscription requirements for Marathon's free week. Standard platform policy on PlayStation and Xbox requires an active subscription for online play, though free events occasionally bypass this requirement.

Sources and Methodology

This article is based on a report published by Rock Paper Shotgun, titled "Bungie are making it easy to you to try Marathon by launching its new season with a free week right when veteran players lose all their best gear." The article synthesizes Bungie's official statements and strategies regarding their upcoming extraction shooter Marathon. This article was last updated on October 26, 2023.