Bungie has delayed a September 22 Marathon update to December 8 as part of a larger live service overhaul that will end the game's "strict seasonal schedule" in the hopes of delivering more significant content drops – on the surface, not unlike the strategy Arc Raiders has pivoted toward.

In a blog post, Bungie agrees that "Marathon needs more depth, more variety, stronger progression, and better reasons to keep playing over the long term." Destiny 2 players may feel a strange sense of deja vu toward this line: "Addressing that feedback requires us to change both what we're building and how we deliver it."

"The content originally planned for September will now arrive as part of our Symbiosis update on December 8," Bungie writes. "Alongside the new Runner shell, permanent PvE experience, and refreshed Perimeter zone, the update will also include a social space/firing range, an experimental TDM mode, and improvements to new player onboarding."

That December update, Symbiosis, is called "the first major step in Marathon’s next chapter." I have to wonder if it will ultimately be positioned as a relaunch of sorts.

"Symbiosis is an important milestone for Marathon and the beginning of a broader evolution through March and beyond, shaped by what we learn from players along the way," Bungie says. This timeline is roughly in line with Marathon's original season roadmap, but content drops will now move more freely as a way of "giving the team the time needed to deliver the larger experiences."

In addition to the above Symbiosis features and additions, players can expect an updated Perimeter map that, hopefully, makes the dang thing worth playing past the opening hours of Marathon. Bungie is also looking to add "the first of several improvements to the new-player experience."

Between the PvE, social space, and team deathmatch PvP, Marathon is looking more like Destiny 2 by the day. It's even got the new-player struggles down. Bungie's flagship MMO ended development just months ago, but it still averages upwards of 8x Marathon's daily peak Steam concurrent player count, reflecting the struggles the studio's new game has faced post-launch, despite delivering a genuinely compelling shooter experience. In our Marathon review, Andy calls it "my favorite multiplayer shooter in years."

A smaller update is now planned for October 6 to help refresh the game. It very literally "refreshes rewards," Bungie says, and it also resets progression and the in-game economy much like a seasonal wipe.

Additionally, the October update will bring a tuning and balance sweep, a new rewards pass, and miscellaneous quality-of-life improvements. Marathon's recent PvE experiment, Vault Breaker, will also be revived, albeit only for another "limited time" run. Between this and Symbiosis, Bungie is seriously looking for a way to ensure "PvE fits into progression," seemingly in response to Marathon's intimidating PvP.

Shrugging off concerns about Marathon's health and its own – the studio has listed enormous chunks of its floor plan for sublease, which isn't a good sign at the least – Bungie reiterates that this is "only the beginning of what we’re working toward. As players spend time with these updates and share their feedback, we’ll continue refining and expanding Marathon."

Bungie reportedly had "5 or 6 games" in development, including Marathon and Destiny 2 – but most fell apart after Sony's $3.6 billion acquisition.

World of Warcraft: Forever, in case you missed the wild news that came out of BlizzCon over the weekend, is essentially Classic+. A reimagining of vanilla WoW with updated talent trees, new raids and dungeons, more horizontal progression, and some shiny, glossic graphics thrown over the top of the whole thing.

Given it's aping a more friction-filled time in history, you might be wondering if it'll be offering a Hardcore mode: The answer, per the "What's Next" panel, is a resounding yes. Production director Clayton Stone, who was the associate production director on Classic itself, took to the stage to profess his love of the hardcore mode:

"Hardcore represented a turning point for us as a team. We had tried a few things before it, and as [Ian Hazzikostas] covered, we have absolutely tried new things since. But hardcore represented the moment when Blizzard and the community came together, and showed not only why World of Warcraft is one of the greatest games ever made, but why that original adventure still holds so much promise for where we could go in the future.

"Which," he continues, "Is why I am also so proud to announce that Hardcore will be coming to WoW Forever as well."

While this isn't all too surprising on the face of it—Classic Hardcore proved to be incredibly popular—it will be interesting. One of the reasons why Hardocre mode became so popular was because, well, Classic is a "solved" game at this point. Chances are if you're going for a hardcore run, you already know every nook and cranny of Azeroth, which is 20 years old at this point. And if you don't, you can open a guide somewhere to maximise your chances.

But Forever will be adding new dungeons and raids, new quests—surprise encounters around every corner that could kill a Hardcore run deader than dirt. Which is likely why it's not coming out on the game's launch this November—instead reserved for the winter season.

That'll give more time for Hardcore aficionados to map out every inch of Forever's alternate-reality Azeroth and plan the best strats. And we know how WoW players love their min-maxing.