Marathon's experimental new mode lets you scavenge alone, but only for a little while

Marathon's experimental Sponsored Survival mode lets you loot Night Marsh alone, until Rooks arrive desperate for your hard-earned gear.

Bungie is trying out something unique with Marathon Season 2, creating what it calls a "PvP lite and low-risk way" to play the game, set aside from regular runs. The mode, named Sponsored Survival, will drop a single crew into the new zone, Night Marsh, free to loot and fight UESC bots to their heart's content. That is, at least, for a little while, because as the game progresses, some unwelcome visitors are set to arrive, desperate to steal any gear they can get their hands on.

The mode, dropping as part of the FPS game's Season 2 update on June 2, is part of Bungie's attempt to explore "more survival experiences for different moods," saying that Marathon's Sponsored Survival sits somewhere between "full sweat" and "lean back and chill."

In Sponsored Survival, your only way off the map is to make it to the final exfil, with each match having an 18-minute run timer. That may sound easy enough considering you drop into the map alone, but with UESC swarming the Marsh, and new enemies lurking in the shadows, you'll still need to be on your toes while you gather weapons and valuables.

You won't be alone forever, though, as Rooks can enter the map as the match continues. Rooks are solo-only Runner shells that are designed specifically to scavenge and rebuild, so once they get into your game, they are focused on one thing only: gathering loot. Make sure you keep your eyes peeled. Bungie states that all other Rook queues will be disabled while Sponsored Survival is live, and all Rooks will end up in runs in this mode for the duration.

Bungie says the mode "changes the dynamics of a run, taking the heat off of the lone crew for the first few minutes of the match, while also keeping some of the fun, social unpredictability that Rooks bring." Crews are required to bring a Sponsored Kit loadout, which is one of Marathon's free loadout systems, so you won't have to worry about losing valuable items when playing Sponsored Survival.

The good news is that this isn't the only experimental mode this season, with the dev team confirming that a second PvE mode will be tested further down the line, with the possibility of a "more purely PvP-focused mode" at some point in the future.

Sponsored Survival goes live alongside the Season 2 update on June 2 (that's today!), so get the patch downloaded and prepare for some momentarily quiet looting. If you don't own the game and fancy trying it out, there's good news on that front too, as Marathon has a free-to-play week kicking off at the same time. Just watch out, though, because you never know who could come crashing into your game looking to steal your rewards.