TheRetroArcade
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Joined: Feb 2026
Joined: Feb 2026
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Marathon's weekend Server Slam has only just finished, but with the game launching in a mere three days on March 5, Bungie's ready to talk post-launch plans, spilling the beans on Season 1 and how wipes will work.
Marathon Season 1, running from March to June, is called Death is the First Step, which is a pretty ominous name for the start of our pillaging efforts on Tau Ceti. Bungie explains that, as part of the season's narrative, players will "soon discover a way aboard the derelict UESC Marathon ship hanging above" Tau Ceti. "Once the community unlocks the way into orbit, the fourth zone, Cryo Archive, will become available", which is an end-game location filled with puzzles, frozen vaults, and that terrifying alien we've seen in the trailers. It sounds like this could be a community event of some sort, similar to how we unlocked Arc Raiders' first post-launch map, Stella Montis.
Season 1 also brings Ranked mode in the second half of March to allow players to climb the ladder and earn exclusive rewards, events (such as C.A.R.R.I., whatever that is), a new weapon, and more.
Season 2: Nightfall goes from June to August, bringing the new Night Marsh map, a Shell, and 'The Cradle' system, alongside new guns, mods, and enemies.
However, Bungie has also confirmed that it's dedicated to mandatory server wipes each season, clearing out your vault and resetting your progression: "These resets include everyone’s gear, contract progression, faction progression, and player level."
The only things you'll keep are:
"Seasonal resets mean that the game stays dangerous, loot feels meaningful, and there’s always a good opportunity to get back into the game or bring a friend in without feeling behind the curve."
Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals, as picked by the PC Gamer team.
While mandatory wipes are a tentpole of the genre, solidified by Escape from Tarkov, Marathon's traditional approach contrasts against Arc Raiders, which decided to make its wipe system—Expeditions—optional.
Bungie's reasoning is fair, but I can't shake the feeling that a fair few players won't be happy seeing all their hard work Thanos snapped out of existence every few months. In fact, the issue of quest progression being wiped is already a pain point of Arc Raiders' optional resets, so it'll be interesting to see how ...Read more: Full article on www.pcgamer.com
What do you think about this?
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.
Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals, as picked by the PC Gamer team.
You are now subscribed
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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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Once a month
SFX
Get sneak previews, exclusive competitions and details of special events each month!
Marathon's weekend Server Slam has only just finished, but with the game launching in a mere three days on March 5, Bungie's ready to talk post-launch plans, spilling the beans on Season 1 and how wipes will work.
Marathon Season 1, running from March to June, is called Death is the First Step, which is a pretty ominous name for the start of our pillaging efforts on Tau Ceti. Bungie explains that, as part of the season's narrative, players will "soon discover a way aboard the derelict UESC Marathon ship hanging above" Tau Ceti. "Once the community unlocks the way into orbit, the fourth zone, Cryo Archive, will become available", which is an end-game location filled with puzzles, frozen vaults, and that terrifying alien we've seen in the trailers. It sounds like this could be a community event of some sort, similar to how we unlocked Arc Raiders' first post-launch map, Stella Montis.
Season 1 also brings Ranked mode in the second half of March to allow players to climb the ladder and earn exclusive rewards, events (such as C.A.R.R.I., whatever that is), a new weapon, and more.
Season 2: Nightfall goes from June to August, bringing the new Night Marsh map, a Shell, and 'The Cradle' system, alongside new guns, mods, and enemies.
However, Bungie has also confirmed that it's dedicated to mandatory server wipes each season, clearing out your vault and resetting your progression: "These resets include everyone’s gear, contract progression, faction progression, and player level."
The only things you'll keep are:
"Seasonal resets mean that the game stays dangerous, loot feels meaningful, and there’s always a good opportunity to get back into the game or bring a friend in without feeling behind the curve."
Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals, as picked by the PC Gamer team.
While mandatory wipes are a tentpole of the genre, solidified by Escape from Tarkov, Marathon's traditional approach contrasts against Arc Raiders, which decided to make its wipe system—Expeditions—optional.
Bungie's reasoning is fair, but I can't shake the feeling that a fair few players won't be happy seeing all their hard work Thanos snapped out of existence every few months. In fact, the issue of quest progression being wiped is already a pain point of Arc Raiders' optional resets, so it'll be interesting to see how ...Read more: Full article on www.pcgamer.com
What do you think about this?