Bungie's Challenged Shooter Marathon Is Gaining Momentum
Marathon, Bungie's much-anticipated game, has resurfaced with the news of a exclusive testing phase set to begin in October.
A Challenging Path to Launch
First announced during the 2023 gaming showcase, Marathon has experienced a bumpy development cycle. In October 2024, the developer announced plans were to start Alpha tests during the coming year. A period of silence followed, until the game was showcased again in spring with a planned September release. However, after some playtests resulted in negative feedback, Bungie revealed during summer that it was delaying Marathon indefinitely.
Avoiding Past Mistakes
Though the title has already encountered its fair share of issues, Bungie appears determined to make certain their project avoids Concord's fate. Currently, it appears the project's progress is finally getting back on track, as they just disclosed that it has run "several closed playtests to gather feedback on the game" since this past summer. The developer is expanding access, enabling more players to get an early look of the experience via an forthcoming "closed technical test."
Technical Test Details
Given the fact that it's a private technical test, it's understandably more exclusive than, say, an open beta. To participate in the exclusive trial — which runs from Oct. 22 at 10 a.m. PDT to Oct. 28 at 10 a.m. PDT — players must meet the following pre-requisites:
- Submit an application via their platform
- Live in supported regions
- Own a PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X or S, or compatible computer (minimum PC specs include an Intel Core i5-6600 processor, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti GPU, and sufficient memory)
- Join their community platform
- Sign an NDA via the online community
Application Process
Registration is currently available, and to be eligible for the technical test, applicants must complete registration by the October 16th deadline. Players on Windows PC can also submit their application via the digital platform starting on Oct. 13 at 10 a.m. PDT, with digital platform registrations due by Oct. 26 at 4 p.m. PDT. The developer will contact players who qualify and inform them of the following procedures.
"This is an important checkpoint for us as we test our improvements since Marathon's Alpha, including multiple locations, five runner shells, prox chat, adjusted gameplay rhythm, solo queue, enhanced narrative elements, and additional features," the studio stated. "That said, the current version is a work in progress and will only include a portion of what's planned for the game's full release, focused on the early player experience."
Additional Information
More info about the technical test and the actual experience can be located on Marathon's help page. But for players who aren't selected for the trial (or cannot participate), there's still good news: The developer says a public update on the project's status is the next thing on the agenda once the test is over.
"There will be a public update on Marathon's development in the near future after the private testing phase!" The studio announced.