{"id":1829044,"date":"2026-03-16T10:26:03","date_gmt":"2026-03-16T07:26:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1829044"},"modified":"2026-03-16T10:26:03","modified_gmt":"2026-03-16T07:26:03","slug":"marathons-latest-update-adds-a-locked-off-fourth-map-indicating-the-extraction-shooters-hardest-challenge-will-soon-be-revealed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1829044","title":{"rendered":"Marathon&#8217;s latest update adds a locked-off fourth map, indicating the extraction shooter&#8217;s hardest challenge will soon be revealed"},"content":{"rendered":"<article class=\"article \" data-ads=\"true\" data-article-type=\"news\" data-article-group=\"news\" data-paywalled=\"false\" data-premium=\"false\" data-sponsored=\"false\" data-type=\"article\">\n<header class=\"article_header\" data-component=\"article-header\">\n<div class=\"breadcrumbs\">\n<nav class=\"nav_breadcrumbs\" data-component=\"nav-breadcrumbs\" aria-label=\"Breadcrumb\">\n<ul class=\"nav-links\">\n<li>\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/\" data-active=\"false\"><br \/>\n                      Home<br \/>\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<li>\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/news\" data-active=\"false\"><br \/>\n                      News<br \/>\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/nav><\/div>\n<div class=\"headline_details\" id=\"main-content\">\n<h1 class=\"title\">Marathon&#8217;s latest update adds a locked-off fourth map, indicating the extraction shooter&#8217;s hardest challenge will soon be revealed<\/h1>\n<p class=\"strapline\">Keeping it on ice.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"headline_asset\">\n<figure class=\"headline_image_wrapper\">\n<p>        <img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"headline_image\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/marathon-rook.jpg?width=570&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;dpr=3&amp;auto=webp\" alt=\"Marathon Rook.\" loading=\"eager\" data-uri=\"marathon-rook.jpg\" data-lightbox width=\"570\" height=\"320\"><figcaption>\n          <span class=\"attribution\">Image credit: <cite>Bungie<\/cite><\/span><br \/>\n        <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"metadata\">\n<div class=\"avatar\">\n<p>    <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Connor Makar avatar\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/tAtwiaBo_400x400.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"374\" height=\"374\"><\/p>\n<p>  <img alt=\"Connor Makar avatar\" data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"tAtwiaBo_400x400.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"374\" height=\"374\">\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text\">\n<div class=\"byline\">\n                  <span class=\"article_type\" data-slug=\"news\"><br \/>\n                    News<br \/>\n                  <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"by\">by<\/span> <span class=\"author\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/authors\/connor-makar\">Connor Makar<\/a><\/span>                    <span class=\"job_title\"><br \/>\n                      Staff Writer<br \/>\n                    <\/span>\n            <\/div>\n<div class=\"published_at\">\nPublished on <time datetime=\"2026-03-16T10:26:03+00:00\">March 16, 2026<\/time>              <\/div>\n<div class=\"comments\">\n      <a class=\"comments__link comments-bubble\" href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/marathon-update-cryo-archives-added-locked?view=comments\" rel=\"nofollow\"><br \/>\n          7 comments<br \/>\n      <\/a>\n    <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"mypop-header-wrapper\">\n<p><button class=\"mypop-button button wide\" data-state=\"follow\" data-type=\"tag\" data-uuid=\"d837b65d-6d00-4904-b03b-3b773ebabe1f\" data-name=\"Marathon\" data-follow-text=\"Follow Marathon\" data-unfollow-text=\"Following Marathon\" data-aria-follow-text=\"Follow Marathon\" data-aria-unfollow-text=\"Following Marathon\" data-popup=\"true\" data-force-login=\"true\" aria-label=\"Follow Marathon\" title=\"Follow Marathon\"><br \/>\n  Follow Marathon<br \/>\n<\/button>          <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"article_body\" data-component=\"article-content\">\n<div class=\"article_body_content article-styling\">\n<p>If you&#8217;ve booted up Marathon today before work (or for the naughtier of you out there, whilst <em>at<\/em> work), you may have noticed a major change. Not only has a mysterious mail landed in your inbox, but a locked-off fourth map has appeared on the menu. It looks as though Cryo Archive &#8211; the hardest map yet &#8211; is nearly here.<\/p>\n<p>This occurred as the next stage <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/arg-hunters-marathon-discord-cryo-archive\">in the ongoing Marathon ARG was unlocked<\/a>, the sixth of seven steps that members of the community must solve. Alongside this step came small hints as to the requirements for actually accessing the Cryo Archive, revealed <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reddit.com\/r\/Marathon\/comments\/1rutuit\/cryo_archive_requirements_to_access\/\">through small lines of text on the ARG website<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>All we know so far is you must have contacted each of the six in-game factions, and must be level 25. This doesn&#8217;t appear to be a tall order for most players, especially given the challenge built into the Cryo Archive. Rather, it appears to be a measure to stop griefing from bots or low-level accounts. This level requirement means that those who venture into the archive for the best loot will have to invest some time into their account to do so.<\/p>\n<figure>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"767\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/image_5vJNXuA.png?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 0.8539765319426337\" width=\"655\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-lightbox data-uri=\"image_5vJNXuA.png\" height=\"767\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 0.8539765319426337\" width=\"655\"><figcaption>Here&#8217;s the current message shown when trying to select this fourth map.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>What else we know comes in the form of tiny glimpses of the map itself, unlocked early on in the ARG and <a href=\"https:\/\/cryoarchive.systems\/cargo\">viewable on the official website<\/a>. These, plus a selection of fancy cinematic teases <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=yYJAQkzSCvA\">posted on the Marathon channel<\/a>. This series, titled &#8216;A New Future Beyond the Sun&#8217;, offers narrative hints as to what we may encounter on the Marathon ship itself. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/reverse-engineering-marathon-visual-mood-board-magic-art-style\">More wonderful visuals, one hopes<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"injection_placeholder\" data-position=\"1\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p>With the Cryo Archive&#8217;s release, Marathon will seemingly morph into a full package at last. For early impressions of the game made following the conclusion of the game&#8217;s pre-release Server Slam, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/marathon-is-good-actually-the-arc-raiders-rivalling-extraction-shooter-proves-bungie-has-still-got-what-made-halo-and-destiny-great\">you can read Eurogamer&#8217;s piece<\/a> to get an idea what all the fuss is about.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"preferred-source\" data-component=\"preferred-source\">\nLove Eurogamer.net? Make us a <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\">Preferred Source on Google<\/a> and catch more of our coverage in your feeds.  <\/div>\n<\/article>\n<div class=\"article_body\" data-component=\"article-content\">\n<div class=\"article_body_content article-styling\">\n<p>If you&#8217;ve booted up Marathon today before work (or for the naughtier of you out there, whilst <em>at<\/em> work), you may have noticed a major change. Not only has a mysterious mail landed in your inbox, but a locked-off fourth map has appeared on the menu. It looks as though Cryo Archive &#8211; the hardest map yet &#8211; is nearly here.<\/p>\n<p>This occurred as the next stage <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/arg-hunters-marathon-discord-cryo-archive\">in the ongoing Marathon ARG was unlocked<\/a>, the sixth of seven steps that members of the community must solve. Alongside this step came small hints as to the requirements for actually accessing the Cryo Archive, revealed <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reddit.com\/r\/Marathon\/comments\/1rutuit\/cryo_archive_requirements_to_access\/\">through small lines of text on the ARG website<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>All we know so far is you must have contacted each of the six in-game factions, and must be level 25. This doesn&#8217;t appear to be a tall order for most players, especially given the challenge built into the Cryo Archive. Rather, it appears to be a measure to stop griefing from bots or low-level accounts. This level requirement means that those who venture into the archive for the best loot will have to invest some time into their account to do so.<\/p>\n<figure>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt height=\"767\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/image_5vJNXuA.png?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 0.8539765319426337\" width=\"655\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-lightbox data-uri=\"image_5vJNXuA.png\" height=\"767\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 0.8539765319426337\" width=\"655\"><figcaption>Here&#8217;s the current message shown when trying to select this fourth map.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>What else we know comes in the form of tiny glimpses of the map itself, unlocked early on in the ARG and <a href=\"https:\/\/cryoarchive.systems\/cargo\">viewable on the official website<\/a>. These, plus a selection of fancy cinematic teases <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=yYJAQkzSCvA\">posted on the Marathon channel<\/a>. This series, titled &#8216;A New Future Beyond the Sun&#8217;, offers narrative hints as to what we may encounter on the Marathon ship itself. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/reverse-engineering-marathon-visual-mood-board-magic-art-style\">More wonderful visuals, one hopes<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"injection_placeholder\" data-position=\"1\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p>With the Cryo Archive&#8217;s release, Marathon will seemingly morph into a full package at last. For early impressions of the game made following the conclusion of the game&#8217;s pre-release Server Slam, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/marathon-is-good-actually-the-arc-raiders-rivalling-extraction-shooter-proves-bungie-has-still-got-what-made-halo-and-destiny-great\">you can read Eurogamer&#8217;s piece<\/a> to get an idea what all the fuss is about.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Home News Marathon&#8217;s latest update adds a locked-off fourth map, indicating the extraction shooter&#8217;s hardest challenge will soon be revealed Keeping it on ice. Image credit: Bungie News by Connor Makar Staff Writer Published on March 16, 2026 7 comments Follow Marathon If you&#8217;ve booted up Marathon today before work (or for the naughtier of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,253],"class_list":["post-1829044","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-eurogamer-net"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1829044","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1829044"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1829044\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1829044"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1829044"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1829044"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}