Multiplayer games are unique in that they can last for years and years, even decades in some cases, but the excitement of a brand new release cannot be truly matched by DLCs or expansions for existing titles. Luckily, 2026 looks very interesting on the front of new multiplayer games releases. They're also quite varied, offering a variety of settings and gameplay formulas that are likely to entice many players throughout the year. Other Wccftech's Most Anticipated 2026 Games per genre: Role-Playing Games, Indie Games, Platformers, DLC/Expansion, Action, Shooters, Horror, Sports/Racing, Fighting, Adventure Games, Strategy/Simulation Marathon (March 2026 - PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series S|X) […]
“The Marathon art issue has been resolved with Bungie and Sony Interactive Entertainment to my satisfaction,” she said on Twitter. Whether that means compensation alongside the developer completely removing said assets remains to be seen. Regardless, at least someone has had a happy ending after this mess.
In the meantime, Bungie will be hosting another closed playtest from December 12th to 15th for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC in North America. Since it’s a day after The Game Awards, you have to wonder if the extraction shooter is due for an announcement. Even if a release this year is unlikely, Sony expects it to arrive by March 31st, 2026.
While you wait for updates, check out details from the last playtest here, including the addition of two new Runners – the Medic and Scav.
The Marathon art issue has been resolved with Bungie and Sony Interactive Entertainment to my satisfaction.
Bungie's upcoming extraction shooter, Marathon, feels like an enigma.
I was not all that impressed with the game's beta test earlier this year in April, and I was not alone. After a tepid reception and a lot of negative feedback, Bungie was forced to delay it from its initial September release date so it could run more tests and iterate on numerous changes.
Image via Embark Studios
But since then, a new juggernaut has entered the space: ARC Raiders launched last month and became an instant hit in the extraction shooter genre, bringing in a whole new swath of players who hadn't really experienced the game type before. It's consistently been a top-played game on Steam since its release, and it's even gotten a hold on console players, too. And I can't help but wonder what kind of effect it may have on Marathon's potential success, or failure.
With players like myself now enjoying the thrill of deploying, looting, surviving, and extracting, Marathon could bring us into the fold if it can nail the gameplay loop similarly to how ARC Raiders has. Similarly, the success of ARC Raiders could keep potential Marathon buyers from taking the plunge if they're still enjoying the new Embark Studios hit.
I do think there's room for both, as one is in third-person and one is a first-person shooter from a company that has excelled in the gameplay feel of that perspective. They are both stylistically quite different, too, with Marathon sporting a futuristic and colorful aesthetic versus ARC Raiders' grimy, post-apocalyptic setting.
Will ARC Raiders' friendliness factor carry over into Marathon? That depends. Leaks from recent tests claim that Bungie is adding proximity chat to Marathon after all, which is a big reason why ARC Raiders has been so fun for so many who normally don't enjoy the competitive nature of the genre.
I would not be surprised to see some ARC Raiders players now willing to try out Marathon if they weren't before. I'm certainly more excited for it after now truly grasping the extraction concept, thanks in large part to how good ARC Raiders is. The rest is up to Bungie to deliver a product that engages players and hits on multiple cylinders as ARC Raiders has, so the hope is that these past few months of extra testing on the game will have made a tremendously positive impact.
It certainly feels like extraction games are quickly becoming the next "big thing" in gaming, and I wouldn't be surprised to see some established IPs continue to explore it. Before Marathon launches, we have PUBG: Black Budget running a playtest next month, which is the battle royale game's spin on extraction.
Image via Bungie
Escape From Tarkov paved the way, but we've since had titles like Delta Force, Hunt: Showdown, and Dark and Darker twisting their own iterations, and I expect more companies to follow the trend, with rumors circulating that Call of Duty will bring back its extraction mode DMZ in next year's game.
There may come a point when extraction games become saturated, but for now, I think the industry is rife with potential, and Marathon could end up benefiting from the influx of new genre enjoyers after all.
What do you think about Marathon's potential? Will ARC Raiders help or hurt it? Let us know your own thoughts in the comments.
Antireal, the artist at the heart of a plagiarism scandal involving Bungie's upcoming extraction shooter Marathon, has posted a statement on social media indicating the saga has come to a close.
Oscar-winning animator and director Alberto Mielgo has hit back at accusations his cinematic short for Bungie's Marathon is AI-generated, insisting the production is "not AI", and was in fact the result of "155 incredible people and hell of hours, days, [and] months" of time.
Words have meanings. That's a mantra that I repeat on an almost daily basis. Simplistic does not mean simple. Obtuse is only for people, for anything else you should say abstruse. Look the word pedant up in the dictionary and you'll see a picture of me. That sort of thing. I know this makes me sound very boring (spoiler: I am quite boring), but it's my job as a writer and editor to know these things. Marathon's former director of product management, Chris Sides, agrees with me, and he's taken aim at the 'extraction shooter' label, appearing on a podcast to say it's "dumb" and "bad" because it's named after a mechanic.
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