Marathon dropped its massive Season 2 update, and nobody was able to play it

Marathon's Season 2 update was a huge moment for the game. With the massive patch and an open week to invite new players, it felt like a prime opportunity for Bungie to give the game a much-needed injection of both new content and fresh blood. Unfortunately, the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry, and that's exactly what happened here, as error codes and server issues plagued the release.

The June 2 patch, which includes overhauled progression systems, a new Runner, the new Night Marsh Zone, and the experimental Sponsored Survival mode, was intended to act as almost a relaunch for the FPS game. With player numbers dropping, Bungie announced a free-to-play week, giving those who had yet to play the game a chance to experience Marathon directly after the Season 2 patch launched.

Unfortunately, almost everyone (including me) who tried to launch the game in the aftermath of the update was met with one of three errors: Anteater, Monkey, or Weasel. These stopped the game from booting up, and eventually became such a big issue that Bungie had to take down the Marathon servers in their entirety as it attempted to push fixes through.

In total, Marathon's servers were down for five hours, with Bungie thanking players for their patience while it completed the maintenance. In a post on X, the team writes: "We know today's disrupted runs, contracts, and time you planned to spend in Marathon. To make up for that disruption, we'll be sending anyone who played during the affected times seven Sponsored Kits to your in-game mailbox." These Kits include:

• Superior CyberAcme Kit
• Deluxe NuCal Kit
• Deluxe MIDA Kit
• Deluxe Traxus Kit
• Deluxe Arachange Kit
• Deluxe Sekiguchi Kit
• Deluxe UESC Kit

The disruption couldn't have come at a worse time for Bungie. The company has been going through a difficult spell after announcing that June 9's Moment of Triumph update will be Destiny 2's last content drop. Significant layoffs are expected to follow the patch as the team ends support for the game, with no apparent plans to begin work on a third entry in the franchise.

Marathon's launch hasn't been the smoothest either, with the game falling out of Steam's 50 most played games less than a week after launch. Season 2 was seen as a chance to revitalize the game, and it may still work if the update proves to be great. Still, these issues have been an unwanted stumbling block right out of the gate, and the last thing that Bungie needed.

Marathon Season 2 is live now, and the servers have been restored, so jump on and try out the new update for yourself.