Old-school first-person shooter enthusiasts can now rejoice as the classic Marathon Infinity has made its debut on Steam, allowing players to enjoy all three games in the Marathon series at no cost. Originally launched in 1996, Marathon Infinity marked the culmination of Bungie’s pre-Halo FPS legacy. The game featured the “Blood Tides of Lh’owon” campaign, which could be tackled solo or cooperatively, offering a robust 20 levels filled with new adversaries and an arsenal of weapons—an essential evolution for any sequel in the genre.
Reviving a Classic
The Aleph One team has undertaken the impressive task of rebuilding the Marathon trilogy using their homebrew engine, releasing these revitalized versions throughout this year, coinciding with the 30th anniversary of the original Marathon. The first installment arrived on Steam in May, followed by Classic Marathon 2 last month. This endeavor has garnered the full support of Bungie, who expressed their enthusiasm in March, stating, “We’re very supportive of the Marathon community and Aleph One’s dedication here to bring the original Marathon to PC, Linux, and Mac for everyone to experience, with cross-platform play available in multiplayer. This is a true tribute to the original game!”
In addition to ensuring compatibility with modern systems, the Aleph One rebuilds introduce a range of enhancements, including optional widescreen HUDs, 3D filtering and perspective, positional audio, and 60+fps interpolation. The Steam page for Infinity humorously notes these upgrades, suggesting that they are there “just in case the original is too authentic.”
For many players, the Marathon series represents a significant gap in their FPS education, particularly since the games were initially exclusive to Mac. The Steam release marks the trilogy’s first official foray onto Windows. However, it’s important to note that all three titles have been accessible via the Aleph One website for some time, which also hosts a variety of community-created scenarios for those eager for additional content.
While the Aleph One team’s project has reached completion, the future of the Marathon franchise remains bright. Bungie is currently developing a new entry in the series, envisioned as a PvP extraction shooter. Originally slated for release this year, the project has faced challenges, including a leadership change with Joe Ziegler, formerly of Valorant, stepping in to guide its development. In a significant restructuring, Bungie announced the layoff of 220 employees following the launch of Destiny 2: The Final Shape, prompting calls for CEO Pete Parsons to resign from some former staff members. Despite these upheavals, the new Marathon title is now anticipated to launch in 2025, promising to bring the beloved franchise into a new era.
