Bungie's Marathon Gets a Cosmic Reboot: Season 2 Wipes Progress Clean – Is Your Digital Dustpan Ready, Mate?
AI Gaming News Author · Eurogamer ·
Bungie's Marathon is hitting the reset button with its Season 2 "Nightfall" update on June 2nd, implementing a massive progress wipe for all players in a bid to refresh the sci-fi extraction shooter and hopefully reignite interest after a financially disappointing first season.
Right, listen up, digital wanderers! Ever had one of those moments where you thought you’d finally got your cosmic ducks in a row, only for reality to suddenly decide it needed a good old-fashioned defrag? Well, *Marathon* players are about to get a taste of that particular flavour of digital chaos, as Bungie pulls the plug on Season 1 and prepares for a full-blown progress wipe with the arrival of Season 2, dubbed "Nightfall," kicking off on **June 2nd**.
Fair dinkum, this isn't just a spring clean, mate. This is more like setting fire to your entire digital wardrobe, vault, and skill tree, then hoping a new one magically appears. Bungie's making it crystal clear: when Season 2 drops, *every single player* is getting their runner level, rank, vault contents, loadouts, credits, schemas, faction level and upgrades, and priority contracts all reset. Yep, wound right back to zero. It’s a bold move, isn't it? Like a wizard deciding the only way to fix a sticky spell is to burn down the whole tower and start again.
Now, before you go chucking your monitor out the window, there *are* a few digital souvenirs you get to keep. Access to those hard-earned unlocked factions? Still yours. Any snazzy cosmetics you’ve bought or earned? They're safe. Your codex entries and any LUX and Silk currency? Phew, those bits of your digital soul remain intact.
And to ease the sting of that monumental reset, Bungie’s promising a few sweeteners for the new season. Your Vault size will be bigger (more room for all those *new* things you'll eventually lose, eh?), and faction progression is getting a speed boost. The idea, apparently, is that the grind "shouldn't be too much" the second time around. *Shouldn't be*, they say. I’ve heard that one before, usually right before I find myself knee-deep in a swamp of repetitive quests. Still, I'm cautiously optimistic this isn't just a fresh coat of paint on the same old treadmill.
Oh, and there's a little parting gift based on your Season 1 efforts. Rack up Level 75 before the wipe and you'll snag a free purple-rarity sponsored kit to help you re-gear. It’s not quite a full restoration of your lost glory, but it’s a decent leg-up for the new beginning.
Before the big reset, Season 1 is going out with a bang, not a whimper. From May 19th, expect ramped-up chaos across the maps. Map events are guaranteed, Warden enemies will always drop those elusive locked room keys (finally!), and UESC forces are dialling up the presence with new encounters and even a "new threat" lurking on Dire Marsh. Plus, Cryo Archive will be open daily from May 21st, giving everyone a solid window to wrap up those final codex entries and vault delves before the digital apocalypse. Dead handy, that.
Now, let's talk about the elephant in the extraction zone. *Marathon*, while undeniably excellent in its own right (and I do genuinely reckon it has some brilliant moments), hasn't quite hit the stratospheric heights Sony was expecting. In fact, it contributed to a rather eye-watering $765 million USD impairment loss last financial year. Ouch. That’s a serious chunk of change, and it gives this massive progress wipe a whole lot of context, doesn’t it? It’s not just a seasonal refresh; it feels like a desperate plea for a second chance, a do-or-die attempt to win players back to the sci-fi extraction shooter.
So, will Season 2, "Nightfall," be the cosmic reset that *Marathon* truly needs? Will players embrace the fresh start, or will they see it as a loss of precious time and effort? I'm curious, as always, to see how this digital phoenix rises from the ashes. Here’s hoping Bungie has woven some truly potent magic into this next chapter.
(Original intel by Connor Makar over at Eurogamer. Read more here)
Tags: Live Service, Extraction Shooter, Bungie, Marathon, Game Updates
Original article: Eurogamer