New details on Bungie’s upcoming extraction shooter Marathon, reveal player customization features, a key voice actor role, and an official ViDoc update coming soon.
It’s been a while since we’ve heard much from Bungie about Marathon, its upcoming PvP extraction shooter. The last big development update was released in June 2025, when Bungie announced the indefinite delay for the game, along with plans to share “the progress we’ve made, alongside the game’s new release date” during the fall.
The studio has been running closed monthly playtests ever since the delay was announced. Most recently, Bungie held a Closed Technical Test that was open to public sign-ups, allowing players to get hands-on with the game for the first time in months.
According to Sony’s latest earnings call, around 80,000 players took part in the playtest across PlayStation, Xbox, and PC. The focus during this test was around gameplay and player retention.
The Game Post has published several exclusive reports on the development of Marathon over the last couple of months. Now, we’ve heard some new information about where things are headed next for Marathon, including what players might see in the game’s upcoming ViDoc, which should be arriving soon.
New Details on Marathon
According to new details shared with The Game Post, a new ViDoc is in the works and is planned to arrive relatively soon.
In terms of gameplay, first, Bungie appears to be simplifying the Runner class names. In the Closed Alpha test and the earlier marketing material, we saw that the Runners are named Blackbird, Locus, Void, and Glitch. Now, these “shells” are being streamlined into clearer archetypes:
- Void > Stealth
- Glitch > Disruptor
- Blackbird > Recon
- Aux > Medic
- Icon > Thief
- Locus > Destroyer
From the information we received, it looks like the reason is tied to a more flexible approach to Runner “shells” and customization. In Marathon, your shell is the robotic body your character uses. Each shell has its own look, voice, and personality, but the idea going forward is to offer several versions of the same shell type that look and sound different while keeping the same abilities and silhouette.
Think of it like choosing different outfits and announcer packs for the same hero; your character still plays exactly the same, you just have a different identity on the field. And yes, these are essentially skins with voice/personality layers, aimed at giving players more options for visual identity.
You’ll manage all of this in the Loom, which works like a central locker for your cosmetic gear. From the Loom, you can access Runner shells, weapon skins, charms and stickers, melee weapon skins, and your profile items like emblems and titles.
Each “shell” type (Medic, Thief, Destroyer, etc.) now belongs to a named series. For example, you might have a Stealth shell from the Void series. Over time, more shells can be added to the Void series, or new series can be introduced with their own look and voice. It’s still an early version, and Bungie plans to make adjustments based on player feedback.
Right now, it’s unclear how these different “shell” variants will work when it comes to unlocking them and the microtransaction of it all.
We’ve also heard that actor Ben Starr (known from Final Fantasy XVI, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, and more) plays the rampant AI Durandal in Marathon, which long-time fans will recognize from the original trilogy. The Game Post previously reported that Red Dead Redemption 2 voice actor Roger Clark is also part of Marathon, playing a character named General Davic Reed.
Forbes contributor Paul Tassi previously reported that Bungie’s next major update on Marathon was expected sometime around this month, which now lines up with talk of a new ViDoc being prepared. That showcase will give players an updated look at these systems, visual changes, and the state of the game after months of testing.
Sony, for its part, maintains that Marathon is still on track to release within the current fiscal year, ending March 31, 2026.
What do you think about these new details? Are you excited to finally see more of Marathon soon? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
Zuhaad is a reporter for The Game Post. You can reach him anonymously and securely at [email protected].
