Bungie has introduced Marathon, a brand new sci-fi extraction player-versus-player shooter for PC and consoles.
Marathon is in growth for Home windows PC, Xbox Collection X|S, and PlayStation 5, although a launch date wasn’t introduced.
As we speak you introduced Marathon – the primary totally new undertaking announcement from Bungie in additional than a decade. How laborious has it been conserving this below wraps for therefore lengthy?
Scott Taylor: So laborious! It’s so wild to be speaking about this in entrance of the world. As a workforce, we’ve been utterly immersed in growing this world behind closed doorways at Bungie. Despite the fact that there’s nonetheless an extended solution to go earlier than launch, it’s implausible to have the ability to open up (even just a bit) and share what we’ve all been engaged on.
The identify “Marathon” clearly conjures up visions of the unique recreation from 1994 however that is one thing new.
Christopher Barrett: Discovering the appropriate steadiness is likely one of the most enjoyable elements of growth! We now have an amazing quantity of respect for the unique Marathon video games and, from the very begin, we’ve needed to honor that, particularly the mythology, story, and themes of the world. On the similar time, our imaginative and prescient for this recreation is one thing new. It’s not a direct sequel to the originals, however one thing that actually belongs in the identical universe and that looks like a Bungie recreation. Discovering these alternatives to nod to the universe’s lore, whereas additionally getting to construct one thing completely different and new has been top-of-the-line elements of growing this recreation thus far.
It’s our intention to create one thing unbelievable each for gamers who’re utterly new to the Marathon world and for these which have been ready years for extra tales within the Marathon universe. You don’t have to know something about Marathon to grasp or play this recreation, however should you do, we’re making the expertise with references and deep cuts you’ll acknowledge.
You talked about that Marathon will really feel like a Bungie recreation. What does that imply for you?
CB: There are numerous parts to what makes a Bungie recreation. To me, it runs the gamut from the unbelievable really feel of the weapons to stunning and evocative world constructing, wealthy in lore, immersion, and alternatives for unbelievable journey.
With Marathon, one of many areas that could be a massive focus for us is our player-based storytelling. The unique Marathon video games revealed story moments by means of terminals, all in textual content. However now we now have so many extra methods to immerse gamers on this world, each out and in of recreation. We’ll be carrying that by means of within the design of this recreation.
Our design philosophy right here is to have gamers have an effect on the story of the world by means of their selections and their actions. This method additionally lets us form the general narrative route of the sport expertise whereas giving gamers a direct sense of company and energy.
Marathon is designed from the beginning as a PvP-focused recreation and received’t have a single-player marketing campaign. As a substitute, with the PvP expertise as our basis, we’re creating alternatives for player-driven tales to unfold, tales which can be built-in with the overarching recreation narrative. We’re constructing a world stuffed with persistent, evolving zones, the place gamers create their very own journey with each run they take. That may imply an unforgettable firefight in opposition to one other crew vying for a similar loot, or a last-second extraction whereas beset on all sides.
Past simply the “story of your final run” nevertheless, we wish to give gamers the prospect to have an effect on these persistent zones and the bigger world in consequence. For instance, think about a crew discovering a beforehand undiscovered artifact that, when activated, opens a brand new space of the map for all gamers to discover. In essence, we’re making a recreation the place the actions of gamers can have ramifications for the world and gamers with every unfolding season.
You stated Marathon is at present in growth. What does that imply and do you’ve gotten a timeline for when followers will hear extra concerning the recreation?
ST: There’s nonetheless lots of work to do earlier than launch and even earlier than we’re prepared to speak concerning the recreation in additional element. The workforce is tough at work, and we’ve acquired an incredible base to start out from however there may be nonetheless a lot extra to do, together with persevering with to develop our workforce. That’s some of the difficult elements of recreation growth: hiring when all the pieces continues to be below wraps. Now that we’re introduced, I’m excited as a result of we may be far more candid concerning the positions we’re in search of and discuss extra overtly to candidates concerning the work that’s happening and our imaginative and prescient for the sport. For those who’re you possibly can try our Bungie Careers web page to see our open positions, which we’re always updating with new roles as wanted. Come work with us. We’re engaged on one thing we really feel is admittedly particular.
