Marathon ignores extraction shooter 'rules' and is better for it

Marathon ignores extraction shooter ‘rules’ and is better for it | PC Gamer Skip to main content Open menu Close main menu PC Gamer THE GLOBAL AUTHORITY ON PC GAMES US Edition UK US Canada Australia Subscribe Sign in View Profile Sign out Search Search PC Gamer Games Hardware News Reviews Guides Video Forum More PC Gaming Show PC Gamer Clips Software Codes Coupons Movies & TV Magazine Newsletter Affiliate links Meet the team Community guidelines About PC Gamer PC Gamer Magazine SubscriptionWhy subscribe?Subscribe to the world’s #1 PC gaming magTry a single issue or save on a subscriptionIssues delivered straight to your door or device From$1Subscribe now Don’t miss these FPS ‘The whole map was friendly, and we all extracted together’: Peaceful lobbies exist in Marathon after all, though I don’t feel safe putting it to the test FPS Marathon day one check-in: Thief impressions, broken Deluxe Edition bonuses, and so many Assassins FPS Hunt: Showdown keeps experimenting with the extraction genre, and its next twist sounds irresistible: Soon, extraction points and loot won’t appear on the map FPS Marathon UI designer declares himself the ‘fontslop merchant’ and promises Bungie will never ‘remove the SAUCE from the UI’ FPS Hallelujah, Bungie’s confirmed that Marathon’s battle passes don’t expire, you can purchase old ones, and you never pay for power FPS As the Marathon player count discourse reaches peak stupidity, Warframe and Overwatch devs speak up in solidarity: ‘This is big unemployed, maidenless behavior’ FPS Marathon day two check-in: Into the Outpost, an overpowered shotgun, and why I love doors FPS The Marathon server slam consumed my weekend: 21 hours later, I’ve gone from ‘meh’ to believer FPS Bungie has learned its lesson about vaulting content in Destiny 2 and won’t be so cruel with Marathon: ‘It doesn’t matter when you join’ FPS Best weapons in Marathon FPS Marathon’s aura-farming NPCs show just how bland and lifeless Arc Raiders’ AI-voiced characters really are FPS Bungie snuck a bunch of Halo guns into Marathon FPS Bungie unveils Marathon’s first season, confirming that, yes, it’ll wipe all your loot and progress every three months: ‘Each season of Marathon brings a clean slate for the whole community’ FPS Players have rallied together to solve the first stage of Marathon’s elaborate Cryo Archive ARG puzzle, and it’s revealed some creepy footage of the next map FPS Best Marathon faction upgrades to unlock first Trending NEW: PC Gamer Clips! Marathon Arc Raiders Best PC gear Quizzes Games FPS Marathon ignores extraction shooter ‘rules’ and is better for it Features By Morgan Park published 10 March 2026 By stripping away the mile-long checklist, Bungie makes every Marathon match about the fights. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. (Image credit: Bungie) Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter PC Gamer Get the PC Gamer Newsletter Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals, as picked by the PC Gamer team. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. You are now subscribed Your newsletter sign-up was successful Want to add more newsletters? Every Friday GamesRadar+ Your weekly update on everything you could ever want to know about the games you already love, games we know you’re going to love in the near future, and tales from the communities that surround them. Signup + Every Thursday GTA 6 O’clock Our special GTA 6 newsletter, with breaking news, insider info, and rumor analysis from the award-winning GTA 6 O’clock experts. Signup + Every Friday Knowledge From the creators of Edge: A weekly videogame industry newsletter with analysis from expert writers, guidance from professionals, and insight into what’s on the horizon. Signup + Every Thursday The Setup Hardware nerds unite, sign up to our free tech newsletter for a weekly digest of the hottest new tech, the latest gadgets on the test bench, and much more. Signup + Every Wednesday Switch 2 Spotlight Sign up to our new Switch 2 newsletter, where we bring you the latest talking points on Nintendo’s new console each week, bring you up to date on the news, and recommend what games to play. Signup + Every Saturday The Watchlist Subscribe for a weekly digest of the movie and TV news that matters, direct to your inbox. From first-look trailers, interviews, reviews and explainers, we’ve got you covered. Signup + Once a month SFX Get sneak previews, exclusive competitions and details of special events each month! Signup + An account already exists for this email address, please log in. Subscribe to our newsletter The extraction shooter is still figuring itself out. That’s a funny thing to say about a videogame genre that’s been around for like a decade (Escape From Tarkov’s first alpha goes back to 2016), but it’s true. For a long time, there were pretty much two examples of extraction games charting their own path: Escape From Tarkov with its milsim realism and grind-friendly progression, and Hunt: Showdown with its narrow focus on intense PvP and temporary perks.Then Arc Raiders changed the conversation. It showed us that extraction shooters are not just a potent format for PvP, but also thrilling venues for cooperation, roleplay, and survival horror fantasy. It demonstrated that these games need not be taken so seriously.I think that’s why I didn’t see Marathon coming. Bungie’s extraction shooter is also charting its own path, but unlike Arc Raiders, Marathon is seeking a middle ground between two extremes: It has Tarkov’s factions, its progression, and those butterflies-in-your-stomach moments as you’re limping toward extract with 20k in your backpack.Article continues below You may like Is Marathon’s time-to-kill too fast, or am I too Arc Raiders-pilled? The Marathon server slam consumed my weekend: 21 hours later, I’ve gone from ‘meh’ to believer Marathon’s Outpost is an extraction map masterclass that has me even more excited for Cryo Archive But Marathon also has Hunt: Showdown’s emphasis on intense and frequent PvP, which is kind of amazing, because I’ve always maintained that it’s Hunt’s lack of backpacks and checklists that makes it so fun. I usually hate these games’ overeliance on the “thrill” of dragging boxes from one menu to another, but honestly, Marathon has its hooks in me deep.Calculated cutsWhy does it work? I think it comes down to a few design choices that I originally thought were terrible ideas: Marathon has no safe pockets, it has short round timers, and it restricts players to just one quest at a time.Having come off 60 hours of Arc Raiders, it all sounded backwards. Do they