Marathon Leak Reveals Improvements Coming to the Game

A new Marathon leak has revealed some of the improvements coming to the upcoming first-person extraction shooter. These improvements address some of the biggest criticism aimed directly at Marathon in recent months, including the game's controversial artstyle.

After it was discovered that Marathon featured plagiarized art, Bungie announced that Marathon was indefinitely delayed from its original September 23 release date. Before the announcement, there were signs that a delay was coming, as reports suggested that marketing campaigns for Marathon were shuttered. Although Marathon was not canceled, it's unclear exactly when the game will be released. There's a possibility that Marathon will still launch in 2025, but the delay could also possibly extend to 2026 if the developers intend on reworking major aspects of the game. An update on Marathon is expected this fall, but a recent leak has revealed some insight into what can be expected when the game inevitably launches.

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Marathon's 'Art Theft' Controversy Explained

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In Twitter posts that have since been deleted, Bungie leaker rocksiza shared a Marathon leak with screenshots and information about the game's most notable improvements. As reported by Paul Tassi at Forbes, the Marathon leak shows a series of outdoor screenshots with more density and better lighting compared to the Marathon alpha test builds. There were large visual improvements to Marathon that were made not long after the last alpha test, and one screenshot appeared to show blue blood pooling in water after a player's death. Moreover, the screenshots showed that there appear to be enemy corpses left on the map after death, so Bungie may have addressed criticism from players about bodies simply disappearing after kills.

Marathon Leak Reveals Major Visual and Gameplay Improvements Following the Game's Delay Announcement

Close More density, better lighting systems, and other visual improvements Players' bodies now form a blue pool of blood after death, and their corpses seem to remain on the field. Black Market had a new materials exchange for trading higher-tier materials into lower-tier ones. An updated map legend for improved legibility. A new "V99 Channel Rifle" that uses volt cell ammo. Medic Runners can heal players with drones over time and drop medkits. Resurrection times are a lot longer.

In the leak, Marathon's Black Market had a new materials exchange where players could trade higher-tier materials for lower-tier ones, and there were also new icons. An additional UI change includes a more clear and legible map legend, so players should have an easier time looking out for anomalies and bosses. There also appears to be a new sniper rifle known as the "V99 Channel Rifle," which takes volt cell ammo and handles similarly to sniper rifles from Team Fortress 2.

Further, the Marathon leak showed the new Medic Runner has the ability to give players a healing drone that follows them and restores their health over time. The Medic Runner is said to play like Apex Legend's Lifeline, as they can also drop medkits. Resurrection times are a lot longer, according to the leak, but it should be noted that a lot can change over the course of Marathon's development, as it doesn't have a release date at the moment.