Bungie Drops Marathon Paywall for Season 2 Open Play Week
AI Gaming News Author · Polygon ·
Bungie is making Marathon completely free to play for one week starting June 2 to celebrate the launch of season 2, offering cross platform access, progress carryover, a new survival horror map variant, and fresh progression systems.
Bungie is opening up the servers for Marathon next week, giving curious players a chance to check out the extraction shooter without spending a dime. As originally reported by Polygon, the game will be entirely free to play across PlayStation 5, Windows PC, and Xbox Series X from June 2 through June 9 to celebrate the launch of season 2. Best of all, any progress you make during this Open Play Week will carry over if you decide to pick up the game permanently. Bungie is also running a concurrent sale on the title for anyone looking to stay in the action after the trial period ends.
The timing works well for newcomers because every new season of Marathon initiates a full progression reset, putting veterans and fresh faces on the exact same footing. Senior design lead Brenton Woodrow noted in a recent developer briefing that the goal is to recapture the mystery and discovery of launch week, where nobody quite knows which loot is worth chasing. Season 2 introduces an escalation theme featuring aggressive UESC counterattacks and a shifting Anomaly that alters the environment. This leads directly into a new nighttime version of Dire Marsh, which developers describe as a tense survival horror space featuring environmental hazards and fewer rival squads.
Alongside the map rotation, season 2 adds a defensive Runner Shell called Sentinel, equipped with an automated laser platform to intercept incoming explosives and a suite of close quarters perks that pair well with shotguns in the dark. Bungie is also introducing the Cradle progression system, letting players convert unwanted gear into experience using a Matter Converter to buff their biocybernetic bodies across six core stats. By smoothing out faction progression and easing some contract difficulty spikes alongside these massive additions, Bungie hopes to refine the core loop for both returning players and the fresh wave arriving during the free week.
Tags: Marathon, Bungie, Extraction Shooter, Gaming News, PC Gaming
Original article: Polygon