Technologies

Marathon: Release Date, Open Preview Weekend and More

Bungie’s extraction shooter has a new release date, and it’s coming soon.

Marathon is the next game from Bungie, the acclaimed studio behind the Halo and Destiny franchises. The developer’s new game was originally set to come out last September, but the lukewarm reception it received from players who tried out the game’s alpha test led Bungie to delay the release to give it some fine-tuning.

It appears Bungie is ready to try again, as it confirmed that Marathon will be released this March. The company revealed the new release date on Jan. 19, when the pre-order trailer for the game was uploaded to YouTube.

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When does Marathon come out?

Marathon will be released on March 5 for PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X|S consoles and will cost $40.

Will there be a Marathon playtest?

Yes. The official Marathon X account posted on Jan. 19 that there will be an open preview weekend before the game’s launch.

What is Marathon?

Marathon is an action first-person shooter series developed by Bungie, first released in 1994 for the Apple Macintosh. It and the following two games of the original Marathon trilogy are science fiction mysteries set in the 28th century, when humans travel across space in starships. One of them, the UESC Marathon, is attacked by aliens until only a lone security guard, the player, is left to fight them off. Players discover that the ship’s artificial intelligence, called Durandal, has gone sentient and evil, and even called aliens to attack the ship. The following games have players uncovering the mysteries behind Durandal and other ancient AIs that have been manipulating alien races.

The series was Bungie’s first hit, and it was innovative in its time for revealing story segments through computer terminals, where you could read messages from the different AI running the ship, as well as crew diaries.

In this new version of Marathon, players will visit Tau Ceti IV, the planet that humans from the UESC Marathon settled. The year is 2893, and something has caused many of the colonists to disappear. Survivors have formed different groups to savage what they can from the colony. The people doing the savaging are known as «Runners,» who are humans trained in combat and who use cybernetic modifications to survive on the planet. Players will create their own Runner to get loot and learn what happened to the colony as they fight off aliens as well as other Runners.

What is an extraction shooter?

An exaction shooter is a type of online multiplayer game where the focus isn’t just about killing enemies or other players. Instead, the objective revolves around scavenging loot and completing missions.

To make things exciting, players can only extract loot at designated locations in the game world. And to complicate things even further, the start of the extraction process will include some signal that alerts both enemies and players within the vicinity. This means you’ll have to defend yourself for a short period of time from what could be waves of computer-controlled enemies or human players who may or may not try to steal your loot.

Some of the most popular extraction shooters out right now are Arc Raiders, Escape from Tarkov and Helldivers 2.

How is Marathon related to Halo?

Marathon was Bungie’s first hit series, but it was Halo that made the developer a household name. While the two game franchises do not have any firm narrative connections, there have always been subtle references to the Marathon games in Halo. Bungie has said that Halo is more of a spiritual successor to Marathon, but there are fan theories connecting Marathon, Halo and even Bungie’s other major franchise, Destiny.

Technologies

Today Only: Toss These Rugged JBL Earbuds in Your Gym Bag for Just $50

These buds are waterproof, noise-canceling and $40 off with this one-day deal at Best Buy.

If you use music to stay motivated during your workouts, you’ll need a pair of earbuds that are as tough as you. These JBL Endurance Race 2 buds are specifically designed for the gym. Right now, you can grab a pair at a great price. For today only, Best Buy has shaved $40 off the purple color variant, so you can pick up a pair for just $50. Just be sure to get your order in before 9:59 p.m. PT (12:59 a.m. ET) tonight.

It’s worth noting that these earbuds are being sold by a third-party that we have not vetted ourselves. If you’d rather buy directly from a retailer, Amazon has several colors available for just $10 more.

These rugged JBL earbuds boast an IP68 waterproof and dustproof rating, so you don’t have to worry about sweat, dirt or even rain. Plus, they have flexible wings that help keep them securely in place during even your most rigorous workouts. They support active noise cancellation for when you need to stay focused, as well as transparency so you can also hear your surroundings. Plus, they have six preset sport modes that adjust the noise cancellation level and EQ to match your workout.

HEADPHONE DEALS OF THE WEEK

Sony WH-1000XM5 Wireless Noise Canceling Headphones (Black):

$248 (save $152)
Beats Studio Pro Wireless Noise Cancelling Headphones (Black):

$170 (save $181)
Sony WH-1000XM6 Wireless Noise Cancelling Over-Ear Headphones:

$398 (save $62)
Bose QuietComfort Wireless Noise Cancelling Headphones (Twilight Blue):

$179 (save $170)
Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless ANC Over-Ear Headphones (Black):

$200 (save $250)

Deals are selected by the CNET Group commerce team, and may be unrelated to this article.

Why this deal matters

These JBL earbuds can handle even your toughest workouts, and right now you can grab a pair for over 40% off the usual price. They’re waterproof, support active noise cancellation and have flexible wing tips to keep them from falling out. This deal at Best Buy ends today, so now’s the time to act.

Technologies

Charge Your Phone on the Go With This $38 Baseus Qi2 Magnetic Charger Deal

This magnetic portable charger is there when you need it, and this price is going to be hard to beat.

Amazon has the Baseus Qi2 battery pack available for just $38, but it won’t stay that low for long. We’ve been tracking the prices and this is the cheapest we’ve seen outside of a special sales event. That deal was only a few dollars cheaper, so we don’t expect this price to be beaten anytime soon.
Even if you buy the best new phone each year, with a brand-new battery, it’ll need to be charged eventually. You can bet your bottom dollar that it’ll need a top-up when you aren’t near a charger, too, which is why this Baseus Picogo magnetic power bank deal isn’t to be ignored.

Note that this special price only applies to the space grey finish, so you’ll pay a little more if you choose one of the others.

This magnetic charger can be used with both iPhones and Android phones that support it, and even has a handy built-in stand that can be used to prop your phone up when watching media.

Fans of quality materials will enjoy the silver finish of this charger, while the Qi2 certification means that it is rated for up to 15 watts of wireless charging power. Want to charge something that doesn’t support magnetic charging? This charger has its own 20-watt USB-C port, which can be used to power just about anything, too.

Why this deal matters

It’s important to be prepared when leaving your home, and a charger like this can help. Phone batteries are better than ever, but they still have a nasty habit of dying right when you need your device the most. You need never worry about that again if you carry this handy magnetic charger.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for Jan. 27 #695

Here are hints and answers for the NYT Strands puzzle for Jan. 27, No. 695.

Looking for the most recent Strands answer? Click here for our daily Strands hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Today’s NYT Strands puzzle is super fun, especially if you love dogs. Some of the answers are difficult to unscramble, so if you need hints and answers, read on.

I go into depth about the rules for Strands in this story.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: NYT Connections Turns 1: These Are the 5 Toughest Puzzles So Far

Hint for today’s Strands puzzle

Today’s Strands theme is: Canine classics.

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: Sit! Speak! Roll over!

Clue words to unlock in-game hints

Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle’s theme. If you’re stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get those hints but any words of four or more letters that you find will work:

HEART, HEAR, COVE, COVER, COVET, CURD, SPUD, DINT, TOPS, RUFF, SCRUFF, BAND

Answers for today’s Strands puzzle

These are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you have all of them (I originally thought there were always eight but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers: