Bungie has rolled out a substantial update to Marathon that tilts the odds slightly in favour of teams fighting to make their extraction. The 1.0.5 patch introduces a mechanic that fundamentally changes the stakes of the final moments: downed players can now activate exfil beacons themselves, offering a glimmer of hope even when things have gone sideways.
The extraction beacon mechanic has always been central to Marathon's tension. Each map features three exfil points, two standard and one defended by AI forces. Once activated, a beacon makes a loud noise and sends a beam skyward for 60 seconds, drawing attention from every direction. Teams then have 10 seconds in the exfil zone to successfully leave. The new change means a downed player, crawling across the map, can drag themselves to a beacon and trigger extraction. It's a risky gambit, as Rock Paper Shotgun notes, but it beats bleeding out on the ground.
Alongside the exfil change, Bungie has announced a two-week experimental duos queue launching this Wednesday. As reported by Eurogamer, the test will run on Perimeter, Marathon's first map, allowing pairs to experience how the game flows with crews of two rather than the standard trio. Game director Joe Ziegler warned on social media that "some things will be a bit jank", with the user interface and other elements still rough around the edges. This is experimental in the truest sense; the feature may run shorter or longer than two weeks depending on what Bungie learns.
The duos test addresses a long-standing community request. Since Marathon's launch, players have asked for alternatives to solo play and the hectic energy of three-person teams. Ziegler noted that Bungie wants to "understand how it affects our game better before investing a lot more time in fleshing out the feature". Matchmaking currently requires players to form their own pairs rather than placing solo players together, so this remains a limited test rather than a full feature rollout.
The patch also marks the arrival of Cryo Archive, Marathon's fourth map. As GameSpot reports, this addition represents a reward for community completion of an alternate-reality game challenge that Bungie orchestrated. The Cryo Archive sits behind progression gates, requiring players to unlock all factions and reach level 25 before they can access it. New implants and weapon mods tied to the map drop loot with unique perks; Covert Recovery grants faster self-repair in smoke, while the Testament mod boosts aim assist for sustained aiming.
The balance changes extend across the board. Rook, one of Marathon's runners, is now available to all players regardless of level, removing the previous level 1 requirement. Camera shake from melee attacks has been dialled back, and a long list of bug fixes addresses issues ranging from revive interruptions to AI freezing. The patch also increases vault stack sizes for consumables and grenades, a quality-of-life improvement that addresses the inventory management frustrations many extraction shooters create.
For players still finding their feet, the improvements signal Bungie's commitment to smoothing friction points while experimenting with structural changes. The duos test, in particular, suggests the studio is willing to iterate significantly on its core format based on player feedback. Rock Paper Shotgun notes that this approach mirrors recent moves from other studios, such as Elden Ring Nightreign's duo mode. Whether duos becomes a permanent fixture depends on what Bungie learns over the coming weeks. For now, it remains a carefully bounded experiment, giving the community a chance to shape the game's future while the studio gathers data on whether paired play can coexist with the extraction shooter's existing three-person core.