Marathon’s Rook class is basically ARC Raiders’ Free Loadout, and potentially the best possible feature Bungie could have added

We’re finally about two months away from Marathon’s launch, and I’m beginning to fall for the hype.

Bungie’s Marathon is an extraction shooter like Escape From Tarkov or ARC Raiders, but it puts a twist on it with class-based characters called Runner Shells. These Shells have tide-turning abilities like Triage, which can heal allies, or Thief, who can use a drone to steal loot from other players. But I think the biggest addition to the game is a Shell called Rook.

A new Developer Insights video released today highlighted Rook, which was not present during the game’s maligned alpha tests last year. This is described as a Scavenger class that doesn’t get to bring any of its own loot into the game, and it’s basically the hugely popular ARC Raiders‘ free loadout.

One of the downsides of extraction shooters (while also being one of its main draws) is that many players on the casual end don’t want to lose their gear, or sometimes they just want to play without much consequence. The free loadout in ARC Raiders, and now, I think, Rook in Marathon, are perfect for that and a huge draw for newer fans of the genre vs. weathered veterans who yearn for realism and danger.

Selecting Rook will spawn you into a match already in progress, and it will always be a solo experience. “You risk nothing, and anything you take out is yours to keep,” said Bungie’s Runner team lead Kevin Yanes. And you know what? Hell yeah. Losing my stuff sucks. Let me keep my stuff with little risk involved.

And I know I am not the only player who feels this way. ARC Raiders giving players the chance to risk nothing while potentially gaining some cool stuff has been a big draw in that game, and the main reason why I’ve had so much fun with it, too. I’m not a hardcore extraction player, and neither are the vast majority of gamers that Marathon is trying to target.

If you want to sweat it out in a group of friends, then Marathon has that, too. Weapon and class mods, along with better guns and gear, are yours for the taking, and if you want to deal with some other sweaty players or hardcore PvE endgame foes, then you’ll need to do so. But having the option to always fall back on Rook is crucial, and I think it could end up being one of the main features that helps the game find its footing.

I have no idea if Marathon will be a commercial or financial success, but I do think that Bungie has been saying and doing a lot of positive things since last year’s alpha test left a sour taste in players’ mouths. Let’s hope the full game realizes that sort of potential when it comes out sometime in March.

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A new Resident Evil Showcase just closed out with a fun announcement that has implications for gamers just about everywhere…but it’s not the demo that everyone was hoping for.

With today’s showcase, gamers everywhere were hoping that Resident Evil Requiem would follow a trend of recent RE games, including Resident Evil 7, Resident Evil Village, and Resident Evil 4 Remake all having playable demos ahead of launch. And with the quality presented in each demo, I’d say that they probably helped generate even more sales for the franchise. I expected RE9 to do the same, but alas, nothing. Not yet, anyway.

During today’s showcase, though, Capcom did show off the first look at gameplay from Leon Kennedy’s action gameplay segments, played in third-person, with a similar vibe to the Resident Evil 4 remake’s gameplay. Leon’s focus is on shooting enemies, but he also has a hatchet he can use to parry melee attacks, and he can even pick up weapons like the enemy’s chainsaw to fight back.

This sort of gameplay is the foil to Grace Ashcroft’s more horror-oriented gameplay in close-quarters, cramped areas, creating a back-and-forth to keep players on their toes. Grace isn’t defenseless, however, as the stream showed off a massive hand cannon she can use to fight back. Both segments can be played in either first-person or third-person, and either character can have a dedicated perspective either way.

Capcom also showed off the return of Ink Ribbons for game saves, some new crafting mechanics, and a new enemy type in the game: zombies that retain some minor characteristics of their past lives. The humanity is lingering within the undead this time, and it makes for some unsettling behaviors.

While the rest of the showcase was full of ads for things like collabs with Porsche and Hamilton watches, many left disappointed that there were no real big reveals or a demo shadowdrop like people were hoping for, myself included.

Still, RE9 is one of my most anticipated titles of 2026. It drops in just over a month on Feb. 27, and I can’t wait to get my grubby hands on it, so check out the showcase from today to tide you over.

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