A community of fans is working on bringing Bungie’s classic Marathon trilogy to Steam. Updated for modern PCs, the original game is available now for free.
Bungie’s Marathon 1 is free on Steam
Bungie released the original Marathon for Macintosh computers in 1994. The studio released Marathon 2’s source code in 1999, allowing fans to create an enhanced version of the engine called Aleph One. The Aleph One community has kept the trilogy playable on modern hardware and is bringing it to Steam. The first game hit Steam on Friday, with the rest of the trilogy on its way. The later games don’t have a release date but will be free-to-play as well, according to Aleph One Developers’ page on Steam.
Players take the role of a nameless security guard on the colony ship Marathon in the year 2794. After aliens board the ship, the officer contacts an AI called Leela, who helps him restore the ship’s key systems. Much of the story was told through messages found on computer terminals scattered around the ship. The game also featured an 8-player deathmatch mode over a LAN connection, with the Aleph One community updating it to work online.
While they are separate continuities, Bungie frequently referenced Marathon in the Halo games. For example, Marathon’s logo appears across the Bungie-developed games, including between the A and L on Halo: Combat Evolved’s cover art. Various terms and concepts are also shared between both franchises.
While fans bring the original trilogy to Steam, Bungie is developing a PVP extraction shooter in the Marathon universe. The new game will launch on PlayStation 5, Windows, and Xbox Series X/S, though Bungie hasn’t announced its release date yet.
