Bungie has made some surprising decisions about how Marathon is going to work.
In their first big update on Twitter, they shared this explanation:
Seasons in Marathon last about three months, and each season will bring new content and features that change the way you master survival, grow your power floor, and progress throughout a season.
… Everyone will start fresh each season with nothing to their name and the constant threat of death in a world more lethal and powerful than you are.
In plain English, Marathon with have server wipes every three months. Server wipes are a core feature of the extraction shooter, as exemplified by Escape from Tarkov.
However, for the audience that Bungie expects Marathon to play, this may be too harsh a condition. This is exacerbated by how ARC Raiders, the last extraction shooter hit, leaned on casual to the point that they’ve done away with server wipes.
It’s another element that makes gamers question if Marathon will succeed or have longevity, but for now we’re waiting to see how it will do at launch.