Open Play Week Begins June 2
At the start of Season 2, we’re opening the gates of Marathon so everyone can experience the new content and the many improvements we have made throughout Season 1. This will be a great time to invite your friends to crew up or check the game out for yourself, as everyone will be starting out on a fresh page and learning what’s new together.
During the Open Play Week* from June 2 to June 9, you can experience everything the new season has to offer, including the new Night Marsh zone, a new Runner shell, new gear, and more. Anyone who chooses to purchase will keep all items and progression after the Open Play Week ends. As a reminder, for those who already own Marathon, Season 2 gameplay content will be available for no additional cost.
Dive into what’s new in Season 2:
New Experimental Mode: Sponsored Survival
The start of Season 2 also brings a new experimental mode to Marathon from June 2 to June 9. As mentioned in our recent post, we want to explore more survival experiences for different moods, like if you want to go full sweat or would rather lean back and chill. This new experimental mode lands somewhere in between, and is a more PVP-lite and low risk way to play Marathon than typical runs.
In Sponsored Survival, a single crew will infil onto the new Night Marsh zone. They’ll start as the only players on the map and can explore, loot, and blast their flashlights without fear of repercussion... from PVP enemies anyways. The UESC will still be there in full force, as will some new enemies that lurk in the shadows.
After a certain period of time, backfilled Rooks can enter the map and begin their own scavenging excursions. Perhaps they’ll remain lone wolves, or maybe they’ll team up with each other or the sole crew on the map—everyone's goal is survival, and how you get there is up to you.
In this mode, your one and only ticket off the map is to survive to the final exfil. Each match has an 18-minute run timer, and once it hits zero, the final exfil will spawn. Everyone will have a limited amount of time to book it over and prepare to make their exit. Once there, the decision is yours: Will you negotiate a temporary truce and exfil as one, or turn your weapons on each other in the dead of night?
This asymmetrical mode changes the dynamics of a run, taking the heat off of the lone crew for the first few minutes of the match, while also keeping some of the fun, social unpredictability that Rooks bring to runs. Crews are required to bring a Sponsored Kit loadout to play, which keeps the stakes low for the crew, while also giving Rooks the peace of mind of knowing there’s no fully kitted-out teams on the map.
When you play as the crew, you can use queue fill to find teammates, or disable it to play as a duo or solo. While this mode is running, other Rook queues will be disabled and all Rooks will filter into Sponsored Survival.
Like our previous experimental modes—Duos Queue and Sponsored Queue—Sponsored Survival gives us a chance to test the waters with a different way to play Marathon. Each of these experiments has the potential to inform future experiments, core ways to play, or permanent additions to the game. We’ll also be testing a PVE mode in the latter half of Season 2, with more experiments to come later, such as perhaps a more purely PVP-focused mode.
Shoutout to everyone who’s participated in the experimental queues so far, and please keep your thoughts and feedback coming.
Announcing Season 2 Twitch Drops
Season 2 also brings a new set of Twitch Drops, available from June 2 at 10am PT to June 9 at 10am PT. There are five new rewards available for tuning in to anyone streaming in the Marathon category, and one reward available for gifting a sub.
Twitch Drop Rewards
Watch for 15 minutes: Weapon Sticker - Broadcast Mask
Watch for 30 minutes: Weapon Sticker - On Target
Watch for 1 hour: Profile Emblem - On Target
Watch for 2 hours: Profile Background - Broadcast Disrupt
Watch for 3 hours: Magnum Weapon Style - Transmit Engine
Gift 1 sub: Bully Weapon Style - Transmit Engine
New Platform Cosmetics
Finally, to celebrate the launch of Season 2, players can collect a new pack of unique cosmetics.
Marathon Steam Bundle - Spectral Mist
Assassin Runner Shell Style - Spectral Mist
Overrun AR Weapon Style - Spectral Mist
Profile Background - Internal Affair
Weapon Charm - MISTworm
How to claim: This bundle can be claimed in the Steam store from the “Additional Content” section on the main product page. Items are granted on the next login after claiming.
All of these rewards are in addition to the platform weapon charms released at launch. Learn more here.
Season 2 Begins June 2
Just one day left in Season 1 and one more sleep until Season 2 begins. Go put on all of your golds and equip those guns you have been saving before the season ends. Tomorrow there will be new challenges and fresh rewards.
Don’t be afraid of the dark.
*Gameplay requires internet access and paid-for subscription on console (sold separately)