Bungie Details Marathon's Symbiosis Update and March 2027 Plans

The Marathon details came after the studio shared its broad strategy for keeping players happy with its two main franchises. The Symbiosis update follows the previously announced Nightfall refresh in October. Bungie said details for the permanent PvE mode are still being finalized, but the mode is intended to let players experiment with their builds and fine-tune their skills without being attacked by other players. The update will also overhaul the Perimeter zone, the first area players see, to give it a more unique visual identity and new gameplay encounters. Those encounters include a boss called the Tick Queen.

Marathon will add a new shell archetype for experienced players. The Bishop is described as a 'high-performance robot samurai.' For less experienced players, Bungie plans to add a social space with a firing range to make onboarding smoother.

Looking ahead to 2027, Bungie said the March update will be 'meaningfully larger than Symbiosis.' Planned additions include 'an interconnected system of permanent PvE, PvP, and PvEvP experiences,' more onboarding improvements, a new zone and new alien enemies. The update will also add deeper progression to the shell system and 'more focused questlines and narrative.'

Bungie said the March update will lay a foundation for Marathon to continue growing over the course of 2027. The plans amount to a lot of big promises for a game that has already been facing scrutiny from the jump.