Marathon is Bungie and Sony’s upcoming FPS. Similar in some ways to ARC Raiders, it is an extraction shooter that tasks players with gathering loot, gear, and weapons while fighting off other players and NPCs.
Sony typically secures exclusivity deals to strengthen its own ecosystem, especially as it doesn’t have the wide portfolio to do so itself. That has often meant games skipping Xbox and, previously, PC too. PC eventually became part of these arrangements, as excluding it proved unsustainable for many publishers, leaving Xbox as the platform most frequently left out.
Now, while Marathon is releasing on Xbox, many, myself included, expected it to at least offer exclusive in-game benefits only to PlayStation users. The assumption was that Xbox and PC players would miss out on certain perks.
That does not appear to be the case, so let’s take a look at what was actually said.
Xbox and Steam players won’t be left out
We'll have weapons charms for Steam and Xbox players as well, which we’ll share more about in the future!February 17, 2026
Marathon, in a post on X (formerly Twitter), responded to a user, @iSeekRest, who commented on exclusive PlayStation content. The original post detailed weapon charms for PlayStation Plus members featuring Helldivers 2, Death Stranding 2, and Ghost of Yotei.
Marathon was quick to clarify that weapon charms are also coming to Steam and Xbox players, however, whether they’re exclusive or not is unknown. This does immediately raise the question of what those platforms might receive.
As a long-time Halo fan, my first thought was simple: a Halo-themed weapon charm. It is not outside the realm of possibility, especially considering Bungie’s history and the fact Helldivers 2 has already featured a Halo crossover.
For Steam, it is less obvious. Most PlayStation titles are already available on PC, so it will be interesting to see whether it leans into Valve games or simply expands on existing PlayStation-themed cosmetics, given most PlayStation games are playable on PC.
Despite ongoing negativity around Marathon, with some comparing it to Concord 2.0, or even 3.0 following Highguard, which recently laid off most of its development team. However, sentiment has started to shift. Bungie appears to have gone back to the drawing board and listened to feedback, and the game is generally looking much better lately.
Marathon’s Server Slam begins February 26, 2026, and runs until March 2, 2026. The full release follows on March 5, 2026, for Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, and PC.
Over to you
Will platform specific charms influence where you play Marathon, or does it not matter to you? Let us know in the comments and make sure to take part in our poll below:
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