When Bungie initially revealed the plans for Marathon’s Ranked mode, followed by the schedule for the Cryo Archive mode, fans quickly identified a significant issue. Both major endgame activities were slated to be exclusively accessible on weekends, creating a massive overlap and potential conflict for players.
Essentially, this arrangement meant that if players had limited time or were unavailable on weekends, they couldn’t engage with either mode, or they were forced to choose one over the other. Bungie has now clearly recognized the flaw in this approach, as a change is set to be implemented starting next weekend.
Beginning with this week’s activities, we can expect Cryo Archive to retain its weekend slot, while Ranked transitions to become more of a weekday activity. According to the updated schedule, Cryo Archive will open on Thursday at 5:00 PM GMT/6:00 PM CET (6:00 PM BST/7:00 PM CEST from next week) and will continue until the same time on Sunday. It will then be followed by Ranked, which will activate immediately after Cryo Archive closes and remain active until Thursday at the same time. The upcoming Cryo Archive and Ranked availability will therefore be between these times/dates:
- Cryo Archive: Thursday, March 26 at 5:00 PM GMT/6:00 PM CET until Sunday, March 29 at 6:00 PM BST/7:00 PM CEST.
- Ranked: Sunday, March 29 at 6:00 PM BST/7:00 PM CEST until Thursday, April 2 at 6:00 PM BST/7:00 PM CEST.
Explaining their decision, Bungie stated: “We’ve heard your feedback that having an overlap between Ranked and Cryo Archive can make it difficult to decide where to spend your time and hard-earned loot. Based on this, we’re updating their schedules so each has a clear and focused window.”
The developer continued: “We know no schedule is perfect, but we are here to listen and learn! As we see how this lands, we will continue to keep your feedback in mind for future adjustments.”