Beforehand inactive laptop terminals in Bungie’s newly launched extraction shooter have now turned on, and somebody is speaking to gamers. And it is perhaps an important character in the whole Marathon franchise, voiced by certainly one of gaming’s largest names.
When Marathon launched on Thursday, you can discover switched-off laptop terminals that regarded lots like those present in Bungie’s authentic traditional Marathon trilogy launched again within the ’90s. Again within the day, these terminals supplied textual content logs that advised the story of Marathon. They usually took the type of completely different AI chatting with the participant or offering new missions. Most frequently, gamers communicated with the psychotic however clever AI Durandal, the OG trilogy’s major villain (?), who famously needed to flee the inevitable collapse of the universe in order to develop into immortal. All of a sudden, the terminals are on-line, and it appears Durandal is chatting with gamers who discover them.
On March 6, somewhat over 24 hours after Bungie launched Marathon on consoles and PC, a brand new degree was unlocked for gamers degree 12 and as much as discover and loot. However round this similar time, gamers found that the classic-looking terminals were now active. These terminals can present places on the map, and if you happen to head to the indicated spot, you’ll find another classic terminal and hear a voice.
👀 Durandal #Marathon
Credit score: __meh pic.twitter.com/2BXVaTHiec
— Marathon Codec (@MarathonCodec) March 6, 2026
This positive seems like Ben Starr, who voiced the “narrator” in final 12 months’s Marathon CG brief. Loads of followers speculated on the time that Ben Starr was really voicing Durandal. There was even a hint towards that in the credits. Now, it seems like Starr’s “narrator” is again and speaking to gamers by means of terminals in Marathon. However I’d wager all my shields in my Marathon vault that the voice heard in movies shared on-line by gamers is none aside from Durandal.
What does this imply? Nicely, I’m undecided. I’m not a Marathon lore skilled in any respect. Nevertheless, the truth that Durandal is seemingly taunting gamers through terminals that additionally seem to be connected to an ARG involving Marathon‘s upcoming “endgame” level, Cryo Archive, makes me assume this isn’t the final we’ve heard from the maniac AI. In reality, I wager as Bungie continues to replace Marathon and add extra content material, we’ll be listening to extra from Durandal and different traditional Marathon trilogy characters. Maybe sooner or later I’ll get to shoot a S’pht within the face once more?
