KUALA LUMPUR: Bungie’s biggest first-person shooter title Marathon will be out and available by the time you read this. It has had quite a wild ride getting to this point.
After PlayStation bought Bungie for US$3.7 billion, the developer began work on a new entry in its Marathon trilogy. Unlike the earlier titles, which were single-player experiences, the new Marathon is an online team-based experience featuring player-versus-player combat.
The game was officially revealed in 2025 with a release date the same year. However, Bungie was accused of plagiarism after the game’s aesthetics and designs were found to be unauthorised reproductions of Scottish artist Fern “Antireal” Hook’s sci-fi works.
The matter was resolved by the end of 2025 and the game was pushed to a March 2026 release. However, the PR damage had already been done and many players remain wary of both the game and Bungie. This was not helped by the company’s mishandling of Destiny 2 over the past year or so.
Since most Bungie staff who worked on the Halo and Destiny series have left due to restructuring and other reasons, the team behind this year’s Marathon is not the legacy group that gave Bungie’s earlier games their magic and sauce.
On the flip side of these controversies and issues, the game has been receiving very positive reviews on its Steam page and had a player count of 88,260 at the time of writing. Will this be Bungie’s phoenix rising moment? Or is it too soon to tell since it has only been a day or so?
If rumours about Marathon’s extremely high budget are accurate, the game will need to sell more than seven million copies to break even. Out of the 14,500 games on Steam in 2025 alone, only six managed to cross that threshold.
Bungie’s long-term chances are astronomically slim.
Short beats
Nintendo and the Pokemon Company have announced a new entry in the long-running Pokemon role-playing game series: Pokemon Winds and Pokemon Waves.
The Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive title will be out in 2027 and will take place in a new seaside and tropical region similar to Southeast Asian countries like Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, and Vietnam.
Bandai Namco has announced a new role-playing game using the Sword Art Online franchise: Echoes of Aincrad. The RPG will be out on July 10.
The Suikoden anime series will be airing this October. The anime’s narrative is based on Suikoden II for the PlayStation 1 back in 1998.
Upcoming action title Pragmata has its release date moved up to April 17.
Xbox has announced Project Helix, the “next generation of Xbox console”.
Online multiplayer player-versus-player shooter title Highguard will be going offline on March 12.
Narrative adventure game Fishbowl will be out on PC and PlayStation 5 on April 2.
Op-ed
We talk about the most promising indie games of 2026 via the recent Steam Next Fest event. We also point out the many pop culture references and cameos found in the new title Scott Pilgrim EX.
Games out this week
Scott Pilgrim EX is a new 2D role-playing game-styled beat-em-up based on the Scott Pilgrim comic and anime franchise. Play as either Scott Pilgrim, Ramona Flowers, and her reformed Evil Exes as they deal with a new triple threat of demons, vegan gangsters, and robots plaguing Toronto 20XX, either solo or up to four-player co-op. Out for PC and consoles.
Lost and Found Co. is a new adventure puzzle title made by Thai indie studio Bit Egg Inc. Play as Ducky as you help your Dragon Goddess Mei regain her faith by helping people find their lost objects, fixing lives in the process in a wholesome and feel-good fashion.
Planet of Lana II: Children of the Leaf is a 2D sci-fi adventure game where you play as Lana and her cat-like pet Mui as they help out a fellow villager and avoid the many dangers inhabiting the otherworldly planet they are on.
Rotwood is out in 1.0 form for PC and Nintendo Switch 2. It is a fantasy world beat-em-up made by Don’t Starve creators Klei Entertainment.
Homura Hime is a 3D action hack-and-slash title with an emphasis on dodging and reflecting projectiles, out for PC at the moment. Made by a small team called Crimson Dusk, the anime-style feudal mystical setting and demon boss fights are the title’s highlights.
Never Grave: The Witch and The Curse is a new metroidvania and roguelite action title from publisher Pocketpair. Journey through a strange land with the powers of your magical witch hat.
Marathon is a new multiplayer extraction shooter made by Bungie, out for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series.
Recommended viewing
Content creator Majuular has made a series of long essays detailing the grandfather of computer role-playing games: the Ultima series. The best starting point is with Ultima IV, the game that changes how you play these titles using non-conventional means.
