The enigma surrounding the desolate Tau Ceti colony is finally beginning to unravel. Following an exhaustive community effort to decode a series of complex ARG puzzles, Bungie has officially announced the activation of Marathon’s inaugural raid experience: the Cryo Archive. This milestone was reached thanks to the persistence of the “#breach-protocol” collective within the game’s official Discord community.
To mark the occasion, Bungie debuted a haunting launch trailer that sets the stage for the horrors awaiting players within the ship’s depths:
The trailer features narration by Ben Starr, whose ominous tone has led the fanbase to speculate that he is portraying Durandal, the infamous rogue AI from the original 1990s trilogy. The footage offers a grim look at the UESC Marathon, a massive colony vessel drifting in the orbit of Tau Ceti IV. In the game’s narrative, the ship had been silent for years until a recent distress signal prompted the deployment of “Runners” to investigate. The community ARG effectively simulated the process of overriding the vessel’s ancient security protocols to facilitate this infiltration.
According to a recent developer blog, the Cryo Archive is the UESC Marathon’s primary deck—a sprawling maze of medical facilities, storage sectors, and thousands of cryopods where colonists once slumbered during their interstellar transit. The raid is organized into six interconnected wings branching out from a central terminal. Players will be tasked with bypassing various security clearances to raid frozen vaults for high-tier equipment and “dark secrets.” The descent culminates in a confrontation with a formidable entity that the UESC describes with genuine dread. Longtime fans have noted that the creature glimpsed at the end of the trailer bears a striking resemblance to the S’pht, a cybernetic alien race from Marathon history.
Bungie has confirmed that the Cryo Archive will be a recurring endgame activity, available exclusively on weekends starting Friday, March 20, at 1 p.m. EDT. Entry into the Archive is reserved for seasoned players; you must reach Runner Level 25 and unlock all six factions to participate. Furthermore, each deployment requires a significant investment, as players must enter the raid with a loadout valued at no less than 5,000 credits.
Source: Polygon
