Marathon, Bungie’s upcoming sci-fi extraction shooter, has reared its head again, as the studio has announced a closed technical test to run later this month.
First announced via a 2023 PlayStation Showcase, Marathon has had a tumultuous development cycle, to say the least. In October 2024, Bungie said it was aiming to start Alpha tests sometime in 2025. A period of silence followed, until the game was re-revealed in April with a Sept. 23 launch date. But after some playtests led to negative feedback, Bungie announced in June that it was delaying Marathon indefinitely.
Though Marathon has already seen its fair share of controversies, Bungie seems determined to ensure Marathon doesn’t suffer Concord‘s fate. Now, it seems the game’s development is finally getting back on track, as Bungie just revealed that it has run “several closed playtests to gather feedback on Marathon” since June of this year. The studio behind Halo and Destiny is opening the doors a bit wider, allowing more players to catch a glimpse of the game via an upcoming “closed technical test.”
Given the fact that it’s a closed technical test, it’s naturally a bit more exclusive than, say, an open beta. To gain access to the technical test — 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 Bungie.net
- Live in Europe or North America
- Own a PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X or S, or Windows PC (minimum PC specs require an Intel Core i5-6600 processor, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti GPU, and 8GB RAM)
- Join the official Marathon Discord server
- Sign an NDA via the Discord server
Applications are open now, and to be considered for the technical test, players must submit their application by Oct. 16 at 4 p.m. PDT. Players on Windows PC can also submit their application via Steam starting on Oct. 13 at 10 a.m. PDT, and Steam applications must be turned in by Oct. 26 at 4 p.m. PDT. Bungie will contact players who qualify and inform them of the next steps.
“This is an important checkpoint for us as we test our improvements since [Marathon‘s] Alpha, including three maps, five runner shells, prox chat, re-tuned combat pacing, solo queue, deeper environmental storytelling, and more,” Bungie said in a blog post accompanying the announcement. “That said, the Technical Test build is a work in progress and will only include a portion of what’s planned for Marathon’s full release, focused on the early player experience.”
More info about the technical test and the game itself can be found on Marathon‘s help page. But for players who don’t qualify for the test (or don’t have time to check it out), there’s still good news: Bungie says a public update on the state of the game is the next thing on the agenda once the test is over.
“We’ll be sharing a public update on Marathon’s development in the coming months after the Closed Technical Test!” Bungie shared.
