Marathon is an extraction shooter that’s best enjoyed with friends, but can you take advantage of crossplay?
Marathon is Bungie's highly anticipated extraction shooter that is finally releasing in March 2026 after a nearly year-long delay. Before the official launch, though, there will be a Server Slam that allows all players to test out the game totally free. Whether you're playing the Server Slam or waiting for the full launch, if you're planning on partying up with friends in Marathon, you need to know about crossplay.
Also, for players with more than one system at their disposal, what about cross-progression? You can find out about both features and whether Marathon has them in the guide below.
Will Marathon have crossplay at launch?
If you're unaware, crossplay is a feature that allows players on different platforms to party up with each other in-game. It's become an industry-standard feature for all multiplayer titles in 2026, and fans consider it a disappointment when a new game doesn't feature crossplay of some kind.
Fortunately, Marathon players don't have to worry about being disappointed, as crossplay is fully confirmed for both the Server Slam and the full launch in March. Bungie has confirmed that crossplay between all platforms, including PC, PlayStation, and Xbox, will be implemented in the launch build. This means, regardless of what platform you and your friends are on, you'll all be able to make a party and play with each other.
Does Marathon feature cross-progression?
Cross-progression is different from crossplay, as this feature allows players to keep their account progress across all platforms. So, if you mainly play on PC but also have a PlayStation 5, cross-progression allows you to sync your account's progress across both systems. You'll essentially never have to worry about starting over if you decide to switch platforms.
While it's not as common a feature as crossplay, cross-progression will also be fully supported at launch in Marathon. You'll make one account in Marathon itself, and you can access that account on any platform, as long as you remember your password.
Of course, this also means you'll have to buy multiple copies of Marathon if you want to use multiple platforms. Just because cross-progression is enabled doesn't mean you can buy the game on PC and be able to access the game on PS5 as well. So keep that in mind when considering your options with cross-progression, as Marathon costs at least $40 to buy.
Now that you know about crossplay and cross-progression in Marathon, find out if it has PvE game modes or not.
