Marathon, Bungie's PvPvE extraction shooter, has officially moved into its second season. Season 2: Nightfall went live on June 2, 2026 across PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and PC, swapping the sun-bleached menace of the launch maps for something colder, quieter and a great deal more unsettling.
The marquee addition is Night Marsh, a darker, more dangerous reworking of the launch-era Dire Marsh. Bungie has leaned hard into horror-tinged atmosphere here: the UESC has stepped up its presence, fresh threats lurk in the gloom, and the cinematic trailer that teased the season made the new zone feel less like a looting playground and more like somewhere you genuinely do not want to be caught after dark.
A new Runner and a new way to build
Season 2 introduces Sentinel, a brand-new Runner shell that expands the roster of playstyle foundations Marathon launched with. Alongside it comes a fresh batch of weapons to scavenge and a feature plenty of players have been asking for since launch: The Cradle.
The Cradle is a system designed to give you direct control over a Runner shell's stats, letting you tune your build toward the playstyle you actually want rather than living with fixed numbers. For a game built around risk, loadout decisions and pushing your luck for one more piece of loot, more deliberate build choices are exactly the kind of depth the extraction crowd tends to reward.
Faster progression and a free week
To smooth out the grind, Nightfall also brings faster faction progression, so the time between meaningful rewards should feel shorter than it did in Season 1. Bungie is pairing the update with a free play window aimed at pulling lapsed Runners - and curious newcomers - back into the rotation while the season is fresh.
It is a notable moment for a game that launched on March 5, 2026 to a famously divided reception. Season 2 is Bungie's clearest statement yet about where Marathon goes from here: leaning into mood and tension, handing players more control over their builds, and trying to make every drop back into the zone feel worth the risk.
