A teaser trailer hosted on the Xbox Store appears to have accidentally teased the precise release date for the long-awaited sci-fi extraction shooter, ‘Marathon’ by Bungie.
TheJuiceBaba, a Redditor, initially picked up the now-deleted trailer that concluded with “Coming March 5, 2026. Pre-order now.” and a $39.99 price point, as well as the Deluxe Edition. The trailer was found on the Xbox community website and removed as soon as possible, but not before screenshots made appearances on social media websites. This is in keeping with the March 2026 timeframe initially uncovered by Sony’s financial reports and PlayStation Store listings.
| Region | Time | Date |
|---|---|---|
| India (IST) | 10:30 AM | March 5 |
| North America (PT) | 9:00 PM | March 4 |
| North America (ET) | 12:00 AM | March 5 |
| United Kingdom (GMT) | 5:00 AM | March 5 |
| Europe (CET) | 6:00 AM | March 5 |
| Japan (JST) | 2:00 PM | March 5 |
| Brazil (BRT) | 2:00 AM | March 5 |
| Australia (AEDT) | 4:00 PM | March 5 |
Marathon is the revival of Bungie’s 1990s FPS franchises in the form of PvPvE extraction gameplay taking place in the cursed colony of Tau Ceti IV. Players will get the chance to emulate “Runners” who have cybernetic biology to loot items in 25 minutes of competitive play. This project was initially going to come out in 2025, but had some setbacks due to disappointing alpha test results in April 2025.
Bungie changed creative directors and integrated playtest feedback from closed alpha playtests and October 2025 tech tests to receive positive buzz for gameplay polish. Recent hands-on reviews are impressed with their “Bungie shooter sauce” with the harsh risk vs reward gameplay where “if you die, your gear is lost forever.” The game is intended for the PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC markets.
There is some hesitation due to previous issues with assets and delayed announcements, but now there is some hype again, thanks to a leak and calls for an open beta. While not yet announced by Bungie, this timing seems to indicate that pre-orders and final beta tests are imminent. With esports fans looking at its potential for competitive gaming action, “Marathon” could be a redemption series for Bungie for live service shooters.