Marathon's Big PvE Experiment Starts Next Month

Bungie has shared a glimpse at the first true PvE experience coming to their extraction-shooter Marathon over on its official game blog.

The new "Vault Breakers" game mode will release July 21 as part of the game's mid-season patch, and will take players back to the derelict, creepy Marathon ship's Cryo Archive (the game's de facto end-game map) in solos, duos, or trios without the risk of other squads taking them out.

The mode will turn the usual run-loot-extract loop on its head. In Vault Breakers, squads drop into end-game map Cryo Archive with a special Sponsored Kit, and have them fight through a "progressively challenging series of vaults".

The big twist? You won't be able to keep any of the loot you've extracted. Instead, players will extract "Vault Data", and use that currency to upgrade the sponsored kit, allowing them to go back in to the Cryo Archive a little bit stronger. Players can also spend the Vault Data on "gear that can be used in other modes".

The studio has been experimenting with PvE since the start of the season, with the experimental "Sponsored Survival" mode. Dubbed "PvP-lite" by the studio, it launched alongside the new horror-themed Night Marsh mode, in which a single team of players had to loot up and survive the timer, encountering only AI and other solo Rooks creeping around the map.

Cradle Gets an Upgrade

The Cradle, a new mechanic introduced this season which allows players to invest points into specific runner attributes, will also be getting a prestige-style mechanic. Players level up their Cradle by essentially converting unwanted gear into XP until they max it out.

In the new season, players will be able to "evolve" their cradle, giving them one more attribute point and cosmetics including new Runner styles.

Bungie Teases Season 3

Finally, Bungie spoke a little bit about Season 3. Launching September 22, the third season will revamp Perimeter, the game's first map. The studio says the freshened-up map will include new "areas, encounters, and gameplay". The studio also says it will bring a new Runner shell, weapons, equipment, and other "surprises".

OPINION: Will PvE Help Marathon's Player Count Problem?

Bungie is struggling. Earlier this month, it sunset Destiny 2 with a final, bitter-sweet 'Monument of Triumph' patch, and has been struggling with engagement for Marathon. While player counts are hard to measure across platforms, SteamDB is tracking low player counts even during their start-of-season free week, reaching about half the peak of the game's launch. That said, the game continues to hold decent retention of its committed user base, with Steam counts of about 10,000 players per day.

Sony has promised to keep working on Marathon. In their fourth quarter earnings call back in May, Sony's CFO Lin Tao said they were looking to support the game, with "expansion of the user base" being a top priority for the company.

Will it all be worth it to bring Marathon where both Bungie and Sony want it? My gut feel is: unlikely. To begin with, it's typically highly unlikely for a game to grow beyond its original player count. But secondly, if a new map, mode, new Runner, a pseudo-PvE mode and a free weekend couldn't do it, I'm not sure what adding a roguelike mode to an existing (if not fascinating) raid-like map in Cryo Archive will do for long-term engagement.

I really want it to succeed, though. I've played over 160 hours of Marathon and it's got all the building blocks of what should be a best-in-class, accessible take on an extraction shooter. It pulls off what Bungie does best: a deep world with such a rich trough of lore to tap into, and builds off what made Destiny 2 great with arguably some of the best feeling guns and movement on the market right now. I'll be sure to check out Vault Breakers, and I'll be sure to cover it right here when it drops next month.