marne.io

Yes — MARNE is labeled Free to use on marne.io, and its "community-first" identity means it is an independent, player-built project for Battlefield 1 (and, through its sibling TONGA, Battlefield V) rather than an official EA service. The site describes it as "an independent community project" that is "not affiliated with Electronic Arts Inc.," and its stated purpose is community servers, mods, and independent play. One practical caveat: the site currently shows the launcher as unavailable, so "free to use" describes the project's terms, not a guarantee that you can download and play right now.

What "free to use" covers on the site

The homepage lists Free to use alongside Community-first and Dedicated servers as core attributes. That tells you the project does not present itself as a paid product, but the page does not publish a pricing page, subscription tiers, or payment platforms — so there is no evidence of a paid plan to compare against, and also no detail on any future costs.

Because the launcher is marked unavailable, treat "free" as the project's stated model rather than a working download you can act on today.

What "community-first" actually means here

"Community-first" is not just a slogan on this site — it maps to specific infrastructure choices:

• Independent infrastructure. MARNE (Battlefield 1) and TONGA (Battlefield V) "share one independent infrastructure," separate from official EA servers.
• Player-run servers. The site frames servers as "independent and built by players, for players," with the tagline "Your game. Your rules. Your mods."
• Mod friendliness. One of the three stated pillars is "Mod friendly — more freedom for new experiences," which is the main thing official servers typically don't offer.
• Discovery and connection. The other two pillars are "Open servers" (discover, host, and play together) and "Community connected" (reliable server discovery and direct connections).

The Rendezvous V2 piece

The site says the launchers connect you to community servers while Rendezvous V2 "reliably establishes the connection." In plain terms: the launcher is the client you run, and Rendezvous V2 is the connection layer that gets you onto a chosen server. You don't configure this directly — it's the mechanism behind "direct connections."

How the two games fit together

MARNE and TONGA are two front-ends on one network:

• MARNE → Battlefield 1
• TONGA → Battlefield V
• Both → one shared independent infrastructure and the same connection layer

The live browser on the site pulls from the MARNE API v2 and refreshes when you switch games, showing server map/mode, region, player counts, and actions. At the time of the page snapshot, the network showed 0 servers online and 0 players online, with the API marked operational — worth knowing so you don't read an empty server list as a bug.

What to check before you commit

1. Launcher status. The homepage says the launcher is currently unavailable. Check the Status page before planning to play.
2. Live server counts. Use the browser (fed by API v2) to see whether servers and players are actually online in your region.
3. Project updates. The "Field Report" section pulls the latest project updates directly from the API — the fastest way to see when access changes.
4. Scope of "free." The site gives no pricing detail beyond the "Free to use" label, so don't assume anything about future costs or account requirements that aren't stated.

If your goal is simply to know whether MARNE charges: the site says free, lists no payment methods, and positions itself as a community project — but confirm launcher availability on the Status page before counting on playing.

MARNE and TONGA are two launchers from the same independent project, split by game: MARNE covers Battlefield 1, and TONGA covers Battlefield V. They are not separate communities or competing services — they share one network and one piece of connection infrastructure, so the practical difference for you is which game you want to play, not which project you trust.

Two games, one network

The site describes the relationship directly: "MARNE for Battlefield 1 and TONGA for Battlefield V share one independent infrastructure." That single sentence carries most of what you need to know.

So the naming is a game split, not a feature split. If you own Battlefield 1, you use MARNE. If you own Battlefield V, you use TONGA. If you own both, you are dealing with two launchers sitting on top of the same backend.

What each launcher actually does

Both launchers serve the same three functions, applied to their respective game:

• Server discovery — you browse live community servers rather than relying on official matchmaking.
• Direct connection — the launcher connects you to the server you pick.
• Mod-friendly hosting — the project frames servers as player-run, with more freedom for mods and custom rules than the base game's official servers.

The site's own framing is "Your game. Your rules. Your mods." and "Community servers for Battlefield 1 — independent and built by players, for players." That describes MARNE specifically, but the same model applies to TONGA on the Battlefield V side.

Where Rendezvous V2 fits

Rendezvous V2 is the connection layer both launchers depend on. The site states it "reliably establishes the connection" between the launcher and the community server you selected.

This matters because it explains why the two projects are described as one network rather than two. The launchers are the game-specific front ends; Rendezvous V2 is the shared mechanism underneath that makes the connection work. A problem or improvement in that layer affects both games at once.

A concrete example

Say you want to play Battlefield 1 on a modded community server with custom rules. You open the MARNE launcher, browse the live server list, pick a server, and Rendezvous V2 establishes the connection. Later you switch to Battlefield V — you now open the TONGA launcher instead, but you are still on the same network, using the same connection layer, browsing the same style of community-hosted servers.

What this means for you

• Pick by game, not by brand. There is no "better" project between MARNE and TONGA; they map one-to-one onto Battlefield 1 and Battlefield V.
• Expect shared behavior. Server discovery reliability and connection behavior come from the same infrastructure, so issues or fixes tend to apply across both.
• Check launcher availability per game. The site currently shows "Launcher currently unavailable" on the MARNE side, so verify status before planning a session rather than assuming both launchers are equally ready.

MARNE is an independent community project and states it is not affiliated with Electronic Arts Inc.

MARNE is an independent, community-run project for Battlefield 1 that lets you browse live community servers and connect to them through a dedicated launcher. You can use it to find servers by game, map, mode, region, and player count, then join directly. It is built for players who want more control over how and where they play, including mod-friendly servers. The same network also supports Battlefield V through a companion project called TONGA.

What MARNE actually is

MARNE is a community project, not an official EA service. The site states plainly that it is "not affiliated with Electronic Arts Inc." Its purpose is to give Battlefield 1 players independent, player-built servers with their own rules and mods.

The core pieces:

• A server browser — live data pulled from the MARNE API v2, showing servers by map, mode, region, and player count.
• A launcher — the tool that connects you to those community servers.
• Rendezvous V2 — the connection layer that reliably establishes the link between launcher and server.

The site describes the project as "community-first" and "free to use," with dedicated servers and an independent infrastructure.

Finding a server: how the browser works

The browser is the starting point. According to the site, it displays:

The data comes from the MARNE API v2 and refreshes when you switch between games. The site shows live network counters (servers online, players online) and an API status indicator, so you can tell at a glance whether the network is up.

A practical flow looks like this:

1. Open the browser and pick your game (Battlefield 1 via MARNE, or Battlefield V via TONGA).
2. Filter or scan by map, mode, region, and player count.
3. Pick a server and use the action to connect.
4. The launcher handles the connection, with Rendezvous V2 establishing it reliably.

Joining: what the launcher does

The launcher is the bridge between the browser and the game. It connects you to community servers rather than official ones, which is the whole point of the project — "Your game. Your rules. Your mods."

The site lists three pillars for how this works:

• Open servers — discover, host, and play together.
• Mod friendly — more freedom for new experiences.
• Community connected — reliable server discovery and direct connections.

Rendezvous V2 is named specifically as the mechanism that "reliably establishes the connection." In other words, the browser finds the server; Rendezvous V2 makes the join work.

One important caveat from the site: the launcher is currently listed as unavailable. So while the browser and network infrastructure are described as live, you may not be able to download and run the launcher right now. Check the site's status page before planning a session.

How MARNE and TONGA fit together

MARNE and TONGA are two projects on one network:

• MARNE → Battlefield 1
• TONGA → Battlefield V

They "share one independent infrastructure," and the launchers connect you to community servers while Rendezvous V2 handles the connection. The site frames this as "Two games. One network." So if you play both titles, you're dealing with the same underlying system rather than two separate setups.

What to check before you commit

• Launcher availability — the site currently says it's unavailable, so verify status first.
• Live network numbers — servers online and players online are shown on the page; if they're at zero, there's nothing to join yet.
• API status — the browser depends on API v2; if it's not operational, live data won't load.
• Mod expectations — "mod friendly" means servers may run custom content, so what you see in the browser may differ from vanilla Battlefield 1.

MARNE is best understood as infrastructure for a player-run ecosystem: a browser to find servers, a launcher to reach them, and Rendezvous V2 to keep the connection stable. Whether it's useful to you right now depends on the launcher's availability and how many servers and players are actually online.

MARNE is an independent, community-run project for playing Battlefield 1 on player-hosted servers with mods and custom rules. It is not affiliated with Electronic Arts Inc. If you want to browse, host, or join community servers outside the official ecosystem, MARNE is the entry point — though as of the site's current state, the launcher is listed as unavailable.

What MARNE actually provides

MARNE describes itself as "community servers, mods, and independent play" for Battlefield 1. The core pieces are:

• A launcher — the client you use to connect to community servers.
• A live server browser — shows server map/mode, region, and player counts, pulled from the MARNE API v2 and refreshed when you switch games.
• Server hosting — the project supports discovering, hosting, and playing together on dedicated servers.
• Mod support — the platform is explicitly "mod friendly," giving server operators more freedom to create new experiences.

The project's framing is "Your game. Your rules. Your mods." — meaning control sits with the community rather than the publisher.

TONGA: the Battlefield V side

MARNE covers Battlefield 1; TONGA is the corresponding project for Battlefield V. The two share one independent infrastructure, so the same network and connection layer serve both games.

How the connection works

The site names Rendezvous V2 as the mechanism that "reliably establishes the connection" between the launcher and community servers. In practice, the flow is:

1. Get the launcher.
2. Browse live servers (map, mode, region, player count).
3. Connect — Rendezvous V2 handles establishing the link to the chosen server.

The browser data comes from the MARNE API v2, which the site reports as operational.

Is it official? No.

MARNE states plainly: "An independent community project. Not affiliated with Electronic Arts Inc." Treat it as a third-party, community-first alternative — not an EA service.

Current status and caveats

• The site displays "Launcher currently unavailable" — so you may not be able to download and run it right now.
• Live counters on the page (servers online, players online, server-starts, players reached) render as 0 in the current page state, which reflects the page's live-data placeholders rather than confirmed activity.
• The site offers FAQ & Guides, Terms, Privacy, and a Status page — check Status before assuming the network is up.

Who this is for

MARNE suits players who want Battlefield 1 (or Battlefield V via TONGA) on community-run servers with mods and custom rules, and who are comfortable using an independent, non-EA launcher. If you need an officially supported, currently downloadable client, verify the launcher's availability on the site first — the page currently says it is unavailable.

"Launcher currently unavailable" on marne.io means the MARNE launcher download is not being offered at the moment. The site states this directly on its homepage, so it is a current availability notice rather than an error on your side. The rest of the site — server browser, API status, project wiki, FAQ & Guides, and Status page — is presented separately from the launcher, so you can still check those for information while the launcher is down. The page does not state a reason, a fix, or a return date, so none should be assumed.

What the notice does and does not tell you

The homepage describes the launcher's role plainly: "The launchers connect you to community servers while Rendezvous V2 reliably establishes the connection." So the launcher is the entry point for playing on MARNE servers — without it, that specific path into a server is not open right now.

What you can still check

The site separates several things that are not the launcher:

• Server browser — the homepage shows a live server list with columns for server, map/mode, region, players, and actions, labeled "Live data from the MARNE API v2 · Refreshed when switching games." This is a view of server data, not a download.
• API v2 status — shown as "API V2 OPERATIONAL" on the homepage, alongside network indicators.
• FAQ & Guides — linked in the site footer, described as the place for questions and instructions.
• Status page — also in the footer, intended for service status.
• Project Wiki — listed in the site's main navigation.

If you want to know whether the launcher situation has changed, the Status page and FAQ & Guides are the two footer links most likely to carry that kind of update. The homepage itself only carries the short "Launcher currently unavailable" line.

A note on the live counters

The homepage displays counters such as "0 SERVER ONLINE," "0 PLAYERS ONLINE," "0 SERVER-STARTS," and "0 PLAYERS REACHED." These appear as part of the page's presentation and should not be read as a measurement of whether the launcher is working or when it will return. The page gives no explanation of what those zeros represent at any given moment.

What to do while it is unavailable

1. Open the Status page from the footer to see whether any service-level note has been posted.
2. Check FAQ & Guides for any explanation or instructions tied to the launcher.
3. Use the server browser on the homepage if you only want to see which community servers are listed and their regions, modes, and player counts.
4. Avoid assuming a workaround. The page does not mention an alternative launcher, a mirror download, or a manual connection method, so none can be confirmed from the site.

The context worth keeping in mind

MARNE is described as "an independent community project" and is "not affiliated with Electronic Arts Inc." It covers Battlefield 1, while its companion project TONGA covers Battlefield V, and the two "share one independent infrastructure." That structure matters here: the launcher notice applies to the MARNE launcher as presented on marne.io, and the site does not state whether TONGA's launcher is affected in the same way. If you are specifically after Battlefield V, check the TONGA side separately rather than assuming the same status carries over.