Marathon, the 1994 video game that marked Halo and Destiny developer Bungie’s first foray into the world of first-person sci-fi shooters, is – as Bungie previously said it would be – now available on Steam for free. And the remaining two titles in the series are due at a later date.
Marathon Classic, as the Steam release is known, has been developed by the team behind Aleph One – a fan-created engine based on the Marathon 2 source code – and promises “authentic gameplay using the original [Marathon] data files”. However, it also features optional widescreen HUD support, 3D filtering/perspective, positional audio, and 60+ fps interpolation, “just in case,” as the team puts it, “the original is too
“Alien forces have boarded the colony ship UESC Marathon in the Tau Ceti system, in orbit around humanity’s first interstellar colony,” reads the scene-setting blurb for Marathon Classic. “The situation is dire, and as a security officer assigned to the Marathon, your duty is to defend the ship and its crew from the alien threat.”
Marathon’s two other series instalments – 1995’s Marathon 2: Durandal and 1996’s Marathon Infinity – are also heading to Steam, and already have their own store pages here and here. However, neither the Aleph One team or Bungie have confirmed release date. Those interested in Bungie’s original Marathon, though – whether new to the series or returning after a three-decade hiatus – can download Marathon Classic for free on Steam right now.
And if Bungie has any other motive for bringing the original trilogy back into the public eye beyond its anniversary celebrations, it probably looks a lot like its upcoming Marathon reboot. Bungie announced it was reviving Marathon – albeit as a sci-fi PvP extraction shooter – last May. No launch window has been shared for the project as yet, but a report last October claimed it had been delayed into 2025 after originally targeting a release this year.