Bungie has made another round of significant changes to the Marathon reboot in an effort to keep players on board. The latest update removes one of the game’s best-known movement exploits while also making it much clearer what kind of pace, balance, and movement rules the studio wants to preserve over the long term.

After Bungie made it clear through its recommended PC settings that it sees Marathon as a long-term project, the studio’s latest update reinforces that same direction. One of its most notable features is the removal of a popular movement glitch that experienced players had learned to exploit, because despite its popularity, Bungie came to the conclusion that this bug – and movement tactics like it – would be unhealthy for the game in the long run.

“We fixed an issue that allowed slide cancel animations to maintain momentum when pulling out equipment or using the Thief’s Grapple Device ability. One of our core philosophies for Marathon is that rapid repositioning and aggression must always carry a meaningful cost. That cost can be an ability charge, heat buildup, or increased risk, but it must exist and be understandable to an observer. Unbounded movement, while expressive and clip-worthy, is ultimately unhealthy for the pace of play we want to maintain for Marathon. To set expectations early, we will be looking at future movement exploits through the same lens.” – Bungie wrote.

This is arguably the most important part of the update, especially for Thief players who had spent serious time mastering how to exploit the movement bug. Pinwheel – the vault-like structure in the middle of the Outpost map – once again includes the Destroyed Wing entrance, which Bungie had previously sealed while figuring out how to better balance the difficulty of getting inside. Before the closure, players were reaching Pinwheel far too quickly and too easily for the studio’s liking, but now that a solution has been found, the entrance has reopened. Pinwheel will also offer improved loot from now on, meaning players who manage to get in will be well rewarded, and it should also help them prepare for Cryo Archive, the weekend-only endgame zone.

“We’re learning a lot as we go through our duos experiment and so we’re moving on to Outpost to see how runner pairs do when getting drenched by molten rain! Starting Wednesday, April 1, at 10 a.m. PT, we’re going to disable duo queue on Dire Marsh and enable Outpost for Duos. Players in pre-made duos will be able to queue for Outpost – Duos. Duo matchmaking will not be available. The experiment will run for one week. We’ll be watching and listening for how PvP and PvE encounters play out, how the puzzle mechanics on the map function in duos, and what technical issues come up. Thanks to everyone who has participated in the experiment so far. It’s been really valuable to observe the data and hear the feedback. We’ll keep working on it, iterating, and updating you as development continues.” – wrote Marathon director Joe Ziegler on Twitter.

DUOS UPDATE: A CANDLE LIT DINNER ON OUTPOST
We’re learning a lot as we go through our duos experiment and so we’re moving on to outpost to see how runner pairs do when getting drenched by molten rain! Starting this Wednesday (4/1) at 10am PT, we’re going to disable duo queue on…

— Ziegler (@Ziegler_Dev) March 31, 2026

It will be interesting to see whether Bungie extends the experiment to Cryo Archive, and whether all this testing ultimately ends with Duos becoming a permanent queue or not. If the studio really does test the format in Cryo Archive, it could even serve as a precursor to some sort of solo path into the raid, which currently comes with a full list of requirements players need to satisfy if they want to complete it.

Source: WCCFTech, Bungie, Twitter