Bungie's Troubled Shooter Project Marathon Is Making a Comeback
The upcoming sci-fi extraction shooter, the studio's highly-anticipated project, has reared its head again with the announcement of a exclusive testing phase set to take place soon.
A Challenging Path to Launch
First announced during the 2023 PlayStation Showcase, the game has experienced a tumultuous creation process. In October 2024, the developer announced plans were to start Alpha tests during the coming year. This was followed by quiet months, until the game was re-revealed in spring with a planned September release. However, after some playtests resulted in negative feedback, the studio revealed during summer that it was postponing the game's launch.
Avoiding Past Mistakes
Though the title has already encountered its portion of issues, Bungie appears committed to ensure Marathon avoids the same outcome as other games. Currently, it appears the game's development is moving forward again, as they just disclosed that it has run "several closed playtests to collect player input on the game" since June of this year. The studio is opening the doors a bit wider, enabling more players to get an early look of the game via an upcoming "closed technical test."
Technical Test Details
Considering it's a closed technical test, it's understandably more exclusive than, say, an public test. To gain access in the exclusive trial β which takes place between Oct. 22 at 10 a.m. PDT to Oct. 28 at 10 a.m. PDT β players must satisfy the listed pre-requisites:
- Apply via the official website
- Reside in supported regions
- Have access to a PS5, Xbox console, or Windows PC (minimum PC specs include an Intel Core i5-6600 processor, supported graphics card, and 8GB RAM)
- Join their community platform
- Complete confidentiality agreement via the Discord server
How to Apply
Registration is currently available, and to be considered for the private trial, players must submit their application by Oct. 16 at 4 p.m. PDT. Players on Windows PC can also register via Steam starting on October 13th, with digital platform registrations due by Oct. 26 at 4 p.m. PDT. The developer will notify selected participants and provide details of the following procedures.
"This represents a crucial milestone for us as we test our improvements since the game's Alpha, including three maps, five runner shells, prox chat, re-tuned combat pacing, solo queue, deeper environmental storytelling, and more," the studio stated. "That said, the current version is a development build and will only include a portion of what's intended for the game's final version, focused on the initial gameplay moments."
Further Details
More info about the technical test and the game itself can be found on the game's help page. But for players who don't qualify for the test (or cannot participate), there's positive developments: Bungie says a public update on the state of the game is the next thing on the schedule once the test is over.
"We'll be sharing a public update on Marathon's development in the near future after the private testing phase!" The studio shared.
