Updated Return of Classic: Marathon 1994 on Steam Now
Bungie’s legendary shooter trilogy, first released 30 years ago, returns with an updated version. The first Marathon 1994 on Steam is already available for free.
Classic Marathon, a re-release of the 1994 game, returns with an updated engine and 60+ fps. The game is now available on Steam for free.
Marathon 1994 Origins
Marathon is a first-person shooter initially created as a competitor to Doom and released on the Macintosh on December 21, 1994. The Marathon Trilogy also includes its two sequels, Marathon 2: Durandal and Marathon Infinity, released in 1995 and 1996.
In 1999, Bungie released the source code of Marathon 2, which led to the creation of an improved game engine called Aleph One. Aleph One allows Marathon to be played on modern Windows, macOS, Linux, and other platforms. It also extends multiplayer to work over the Internet via TCP/IP, not just via LAN.
Marathon Reboot
The new Marathon will be a PvP extraction shooter. Announced a year ago, the reboot has not yet received an official release date, and it seems like the game went to production hell. It recently became known that the Marathon Game Director has changed. Despite this, it seems Bungie is slowly preparing the ground for it.
Marathon 1994 Re-Release
As time has shown, Bungie’s Marathon has greatly impacted the gaming industry, especially on first-person shooters. There were still four years left before Half-Life was released. Therefore, along with System Shock, Marathon turned out to be revolutionary for its time.
A team of original trilogy fans, calling themselves Aleph One Developers, has undertaken to re-release these games on Steam. A month ago, the Aleph One community announced the arrival of the 1994-1996 Marathon Trilogy to Steam. On May 10, Marathon 1994 became available on Steam for free.
Classic Marathon has some updates compared to the old 1994 version:
- Optional widescreen HUD support
- 3D filtering/perspective
- Positional audio
- 60+ fps interpolation
These minor quality-of-life improvements will help modern gamers fully experience the atmosphere of classic Marathon 1994. The two sequels of the classic trilogy, Marathon 2: Durandal and Marathon Infinity, will also soon be released on Steam.
Conclusions
We hope Bungie can sort out their layoffs and problems. Apparently, Halo and Destiny 2 developers are continuing to work on the Marathon Reboot, but it definitely shouldn’t be expected until 2025.
Somewhere in the Heavens… They are waiting.
And so do we.
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