Marathon launched with three maps: Perimeter, Dire Marsh, and Outpost. Each map is progressively more challenging, featuring new mechanics, environmental threats, and stronger UESC forces. All this is about to reach a new level with the release of the fourth map, Cryo Archive.
Here’s when you can expect to drop into the Cryo Archive zone in Marathon.
Table of contents
Marathon Cryo Archive map release date
There’s no specific release date for Cryo Archive yet. According to Marathon‘s Season 1 roadmap, we can expect the new map alongside Ranked mode in the second half of March. This is likely because the map is tied to the ongoing ARG puzzle.
The ARG, or alternate reality game, involves a series of community puzzles inside and outside the game. It started with the community having to link terminals across all three currently available zones to stabilize cameras aboard the UESC Marathon, and then continued with steps on the Discord server, and more.
If you want to keep an eye on the ARG, occasionally visit the Cryoarchive Systems website, the Cryoarchive API Monitor (the pages section in particular), and the official Marathon Discord server. When the ARG gets solved, the Cryo Archive will likely become available.
What to expect from Cryo Archive in Marathon?
Cryo Archive is the endgame map in Marathon and is the most challenging of the four. Expect every type of environmental threat, increased UESC presence as you’ve never seen before, and intense gunfights against other Runners.
The map also features raid-like mechanics, akin to those in Destiny 2, and likely more advanced than those on Outpost. As you solve puzzles, you get to unlock up to seven frozen vaults, with each next vault being more challenging but offering better loot.
The final vault is where you get the best loot and learn the most about what happened to the UESC Marathon, as well as what dangerous entity the UESC is keeping aboard the ship. Bungie already teased S’pht Compilers, the cybernetic entities from the original series, but who knows what else we might find up there.
