Following a great deal of controversy, Bungie’s PvP extraction shooter Marathon released earlier this year to less-than-stellar player counts, with one of the core barriers to entry being its relatively hardcore nature. In an effort to entice more players to check out the game, Bungie have announced some pretty big changes coming to Marathon with its second Season – including the introduction of “pure PVP, PVE, and PVP-lite experiences.”

Releasing a lengthy blogpost discussing Marathon’s “launch, learnings, and what’s next” Bungie revealed that a ton of changes are coming to the game with its Second Season. Full details on everything coming can be found HERE, but some of the most notable include:

• Making the game “less grindy” and “more rewarding”
• Improvements across the board (including UX, matchmaking, endgame and more)
• “New fun and mind-bending content”
• More interesting progression
• Better onboarding for new players

Perhaps the biggest change coming however is the fact that Bungie have announced that they will introduce new PvE focussed experiences, claiming that “we want to build more survival experiences for different moods, like if you want to full sweat or lean back and chill”.

Though details are currently light, the team are said to be exploring “more pure PVP, PVE, and PVP-lite experiences.”

PvP focused extraction shooters can be major successes. That said, having a form of PvE does make sense for the game’s long-term health – especially as Bungie are known for being able to meld the two experiences. Full details on Marathon’s Second Season and beyond can be found HERE.

Discuss on our Facebook page HERE.

KitGuru says: What do you think of Marathon in its current state? Would you welcome some type of PvE mode? Can Marathon turn things around? Let us know your thoughts down below.

Dune Awakening developer Funcom has outlined some major changes coming to the game soon. First and foremost, there's the fact that the game is essentially pivoting to be PvE-first. Funcom said that over 80% of the game's players engaged only with Player-versus-Environment content, forcing the studio to rethink the existing convergence of PvE and PvP towards optional PvP. Starting in Patch 1.3.20.0, the following changes will be introduced to Dune Awakening: Another big news is that the long-requested self-hosted servers are finally on the way. The initial iteration, which will soon be available for testing, will require a few extra […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/dune-awakening-pivots-pve-first-self-hosted-servers/

Warren Spector's (Deus Ex director) latest venture into the immersive sim genre is undergoing a major overhaul. OtherSide Entertainment officially announced this week that Thick As Thieves is abandoning its original asymmetrical PvPvE design. Instead of the competitive “thief-on-thief” action that was first teased at The Game Awards 2024, the studio has decided to pivot the project into a dedicated single-player and two-player cooperative experience.

The game is set in the fictional Scottish city of Kilcairn, a metropolis in an alternate 1910s where steam-era technology and arcane magic coexist. In its original form, Thick As Thieves challenged players to pull off heists while competing against three other human-controlled thieves for the same prize. However, Otherside stated in a recent update that as the world of Kilcairn came to life, they found the core gameplay was more engaging when played solo or with a partner. This redesign allows the team to “double down” on the dynamic stealth mechanics without the balancing issues of a PvP game.

This shift is expected to strengthen moment-to-moment action by enabling more varied environmental interactions and NPC behaviours. Players will still navigate the rooftops and shadows of Kilcairn, using a mix of gadgets and magic to incapacitate guards and supernatural security. By removing the pressure of rival players, the developers aim to provide a more methodical and rewarding stealth experience reminiscent of classics like Thief and Deus Ex. This redesign also moves the game away from the crowded “extraction” and PvPvE market, which has seen several high-profile struggles in early 2026.

The timing of this announcement comes just ahead of the Triple-i Initiative showcase on April 9th, where a brand-new gameplay trailer is scheduled to debut. Hopefully, we'll have a chance for fans to see how the cooperative heists function without the threat of player-controlled interference. Despite the radical design change, the game remains on track for release later this year across PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.

KitGuru says: This is a rare move for a modern studio, but likely the correct one. The PvPvE and extraction genres are oversaturated, making it extremely hard to stand out. By moving to a new genre, Thick As Thieves will have a better chance of being a success.

Thick as Thieves was first introduced as a PvPvE multiplayer immersive-sim from OtherSide Entertainment, the studio founded by Warren Spector, the original creator behind the Deus Ex franchise. Alongside Paul Neurath, a creative director who worked on classic titles like System Shock 2 and Thief with Spector back in the day, the game seemed like an interesting blend of their stealth and immersive-sim chops with modern-day multiplayer sensibilities. Well, not anymore, as it is effectively cutting out the PvP component. Announced in a blog post on the game's Steam page, the studio explained that, while working on Thick as Thieves […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/deus-ex-creator-new-immersive-sim-thick-as-thieves-no-longer-pvpve-now-co-op-single-player/