Game developer Bungie announced Wednesday that it’s relaunching Marathon, a video game the company first launched on the Mac nearly 30 years ago. The game won’t have a single-player story like the original; instead, it focuses on a PvP shooter where “players inhabit the bodies of Runners, cybernetic mercenaries who were designed to survive [Tau Ceti’s] harsh environments, exploring the lost colony that once inhabited the surface of Tau Ceti.
The new Marathon has no official release date. Bungie has released a promotional video – it doesn’t contain gameplay footage, but it does set the tone for what could be an intriguing game.
It looks cool. But you must have a PC, PlayStation or Xbox Series X/S to play Marathon. The Mac is not on the compatibility list. This is a big disappointment to me, not only because of what it says about Apple’s gaming efforts, but also because of Marathon’s roots and its special place in my professional history.
Me, the Mac and Marathon
Early in my career as a journalist covering Apple, I paced games for MacUser magazine. At the time, Apple and game developers felt the Mac gaming market was booming. Apple had “gaming evangelists” who worked specifically with game developers, and they also created and nurtured a community of Mac gamers. These evangelists had a passion for what they did and literally wore it on their sleeve. They often had gear, like a leather bomber jacket with embroidery on the back to promote the platform.
Marathon was at the heart of the excitement. I saw a demo of the original Marathon and thought that was what the Mac gaming community needed after the Specter thrill wore off. Marathon became a hit and gave credit to the Mac as a gaming platform.
Most important to me are my fond memories with Marathon and the times when the staff at MacUser (which at the time also included a current igamesnews columnist) looked forward to 5 p.m. so we could race each other in the Marathon Network Deathmatches. MacUser’s headquarters on the 18th floor of the Foster City subway tower echoed with shouts, shouts and laughter (lots of laughter) from us, virtually crushing each other. Shit, that was fun.
I won’t go into the whole story of Bungie and the history of Mac gaming – it’s been told over and over again. But when I think back to the Mac, Marathon is an integral part of it. (I’m not the only one to think this.)
There’s hope but reality can slap you pretty hard in the face
Regarding the current the state of Mac gaming, well, we did a podcast about it last February and explained that not much is happening to make the Mac a viable gaming platform. Apple says it’s making an effort but, like much of what Apple does these days, it’s keeping those efforts under wraps.
It would be nice to see the modern Marathon on a Mac, but I doubt that will happen.
Foundry
That is, if they really do anything at all. Marathon’s announcement is a missed opportunity – imagine the buzz that would have been created if Bungie had declared that Marathon was returning to its Mac roots. It would have been a huge win for Apple, the Mac, and the Mac gaming community (if it exists anymore). Maybe Apple approached Bungie and was rebuffed. After all, the Mac stopped being on Bungie’s radar a long time ago.
I guess there is still a possibility of Marathon on Mac happening. This would require Apple to establish a development partnership. A Mac version shipping at the same time as the other platforms would be great, but if you know the Mac gaming market, you probably know in your heart that’s not going to happen.
The original Marathon’s intro frame has a quote that reads, “Somewhere in the heavens…they’re waiting.” It’s an ominous opening, but I’ll twist it here: maybe the Mac gods are waiting for WWDC and will look down from heaven and bless the macOS section of the upcoming WWDC keynote with a special preview of Marathon on a M -Mac series. Then I can once again revel in the memories of Marathon’s past deathmatches and look forward to the next ones.
Arrival? I hope so. But you can only keep the faith for so long.
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