Marathon season 2 suffers rocky launch thanks to rampant errors and bugs

Marathon season 2 launched yesterday evening, bringing with it sweeping changes to the core game as well as a full progression reset and new modes to leap into. It also, sadly, came with heaps of bugs.

This second season, which was meant to launch at 10am PDT / 1pm EDT / 6pm BST / 7pm CEST yesterday, was immediately burdened with Weasel, Monkey, and Anteater error codes. These were kicking players from their games mid-match, resulting in plenty of lost loot (and ample frustration).

In response, Bungie announced on its official developer social media account that those trying to play the game while these bugs were present would receive free deluxe sponsored kits (packaged loadouts players can use in-game).

Shortly after, the same account announced that the problem causing these bugs had been identified, and that servers would be taken down while emergency maintenance occurred. While the company initially pushed for a 6pm PDT target for servers to come back online, this was further pushed back.

Servers would eventually come back up at 8pm PDT / 11pm EDT / 4am BST / 5am CEST. At this point, the major disconnecting issues were thankfully resolved, though some other issues remain as of writing.

These include a bug impacting codex unlocks for significant achievements for the previous season. For players who reached VIP rank for the in-game factions, special cosmetic rewards are their prize. However, players have been reporting some of these haven't been unlocked despite them putting in the work. Eurogamer has verified the existence of this bug first-hand, with a fully VIP'd account only receiving two of the six rewards.

It's a shame too, as Marathon players have been chuffed with the game's second season now the servers are back up. The new Night Marsh map variant is proving very spooky, with multiple jump scares scattered throughout the map (keep an eye on bodies of water as you move through them). Changes to the menu screen are nice touches, and new cosmetics available to players are soothing one of the common season one gripes.

Whether or not this initial technical tumble has a major impact on season 2's success, especially as it followed a trailer during Sony's State of Play and the start of its free-to-play trial period, remains to be seen.