A new patch for Marathon will be released on March 11, 2026. You can find out when the servers are down, when you can play again, and the patch notes here.
When will the servers go down? According to the support page of Marathon, the server downtime will start on March 11, 2026, at 09:00 CET. You won’t be able to log in and play. If you are currently in a session, you will be kicked out.
How long will the server downtime last? According to support, server maintenance should be completed by 12:00 CET. You can log in as scheduled at 11:30 AM. However, you may be placed in a queue, and there might be issues.
Are there already patch notes? Yes, the patch notes are now online. You can find them on page 2 of the article in translated form.
What are the main changes? The highlights of the patch are as follows:
- Massive nerf for thermal imaging cameras
- Visibility and maximum range (e.g., for sniper rifles from 180m to 100m) have been drastically reduced. At the same time, gunshots are now audible from greater distances.
- Easier PvE (saving resources)
- UESC enemies and bosses have fewer hit points and shields. As a result, you will consume less ammunition and healing items in fights against NPCs.
- Better supply
- Significantly more medkits and ammo boxes spawn on the map. The free sponsor kits also now provide you with more starting ammunition.
- Map change (Outpost)
- The “Broken Wing” entrance to the Pinwheel has been temporarily closed, as this path was too easy for developers. You will need to adjust your running paths.
- Changes to Rook
- The annoying backpack deletion has been fixed; however, Rook’s WSTR shotgun is now considered “compromised” – you now need a material stabilizer to extract it.
A solid start for the extraction shooter
On March 6, 2026, Marathon launched and has since enjoyed over 88% positive ratings on Steam and 88,337 concurrent players at peak – with 62,495 in the last 24 hours.
While it does not show as strong a success as its genre counterpart ARC Raiders so far, Marathon fills a niche that players of ARC Raiders miss, proving that both games can successfully coexist.
With the upcoming updates and content from the roadmap, Marathon is expected to be further expanded and improved. Whether this will attract more players and if Marathon can compete with ARC Raiders will remain to be seen.
Loot plays a huge role in Marathon, and battles can quickly become a risk to the hard-earned progress. However, in the new extraction shooter, players are forced to give up their collected gear – and that is a good thing: Marathon forces players to sacrifice their valuable gear, but it is worth it
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