After just a few months of content releases, Marathon is finally taking the plunge and releasing a limited-time PvE mode called Vault Breaker. Trading intense PvP extraction for a more focused roguelit loop, between July 21st and August 4th, we'll get to see a completely different side of the game that many people, myself included, had been asking for ever since the game was announced. I was among the countless others who were incredibly excited about a new Bungie game, and the first trailers were incredibly enticing, with a unique aesthetic and distinct colors that set it apart from practically every other game on the planet.
However, as the release date approached and more details emerged about the game's gameplay, particularly that it was an extraction shooter, my interest in Marathon decreased to the point that a single beta test was all it took to tell me to hold off on the purchase. Just a month earlier I had quit ARC Raiders Having grown weary of the extraction genre, the prospect of starting another was far from appealing. That said, I still followed the progress and updates from afar, waiting to see if the enticing art style could be backed up with enough meaningful gameplay to hook me. And, as it turns out, that wait may have been worth it, as with the announcement of a limited PvE mode, I'm seriously considering finally hitting the buy button.
Marathon's Vault Breaker can save the game
Extraction shooters have always been bombarded by questions about PvE modes, from ARC Raiders to Tarkovand in the case of Marathon, many people were incredibly interested in a story or non-PvP mode so they could enjoy the world without all the stress. It seems that Bungie has its eyes and ears open and has decided to launch Vault Breaker, an experimental PvE mode in the Cryo Archive, where you can play either alone or in a group without any enemy Runners to ruin your day.
Described as having a roguelit progression structure, the basic idea is that you start by equipping a Vault Breaker kit, and from there slowly progress through the vaults, clearing out enemies and solving each section to collect indexes and loot. Towards the end you have a choice to exfiltrate or keep pressing, risking the loot but also adding higher rewards if you can make it out alive. To me it sounds very similar to the standard Marathon jump in and extract loop, only in a much more condensed environment where you'll be pressed with non-stop enemy fire but will never be jumped on by a hungry player looking to clean up the mess.
On paper I'm pretty excited about it, as I've been pretty burned out on traditional extraction shooters, so I like the idea of a similar game mode that cuts out a lot of the pain parts. I also find it interesting that you can actually power up and use the data collected in one run to enter the next stronger, giving it a stable long-term progression path that I can see becoming quite addictive over multiple sessions. Additionally, you can actually purchase gear that can be used in other modes, along with some exclusive cosmetics, meaning that for those already fully invested in Marathonyou'll still have a reason to switch over and see what this new addition is all about.
Bungie's last chance to save the game
Looking in hindsight, I will say that I'm a bit skeptical of the reasoning behind the mode's addition. As harsh as it sounds, it's no secret Marathon hasn't exactly been the generational success Bungie was hoping for, what with some high-end departures and a dwindling number of players that have now sunk below Destiny 2 had been sitting for the past five years. Live service gaming is not a popular topic right now, and it is very difficult to break into such a tight space as the PvP market, so I think the release of this mode acts as a kind of last ditch effort to revive the player base and attention to the IP.
Looking at it from a pure numbers perspective, Vault Breaker has really given many players a reason to play again, with MarathonThe number of Steam players goes from an average of 7k this month all the way up to 15k the day the mode launched. This influx of interest could give Bungie the information they need to rethink the roadmap going forward, especially given how mixed opinions are on recent content drops. And the fact that the mode wasn't listed on any previous update schedules suggests that it was built as a kind of add-on that the developers never really intended to work on, although only time will tell if they decide to make it a full-time part of the core. Marathon experience.
As it turns out, that wait may have been worth it, as with the announcement of a limited PvE mode, I'm seriously considering hitting the buy button finally.
Credit where credit is due, I may have been convinced to give the game a proper shot, so while they may not have pulled in a million new players in a single patch, at least they got an extra sale out of it. Also, I'm surprisingly optimistic about the mode's replayability and wouldn't be surprised if I sink a few dozen hours into it before it's removed in a few weeks. At the end of the day, Marathon has a long way to go if it's going to have a fruitful long-term future, and I don't think a single PvE mode will fix all the other problems players have had since the tech tests, but it's still nice to see some small steps like this in the right direction, to put the game on the right course.
Marathon
9/10
- Released
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March 5, 2026
- ESRB
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Teen/animated blood, language, violence, in-game purchases, user interaction
