Bungie's Troubled Shooter Project Marathon Shows Signs of Life

The upcoming sci-fi extraction shooter, Bungie's highly-anticipated game, has made a reappearance with the announcement of a closed technical test scheduled to take place soon.

A Challenging Path to Launch

First announced during the 2023 PlayStation Showcase, Marathon has experienced a bumpy development cycle. Last fall, Bungie stated it was aiming to begin alpha testing during the coming year. This was followed by quiet months, until the game was re-revealed in April with a Sept. 23 launch date. However, following initial testing led to negative feedback, Bungie announced in June that it was postponing the game's launch.

Steering Clear of Controversy

Despite Marathon has already encountered its fair share of controversies, the development team appears committed to make certain Marathon doesn't suffer Concord's fate. Now, it appears the project's progress is moving forward again, as they just disclosed that it has conducted multiple private tests to gather feedback on Marathon" since June of this year. The studio is expanding access, allowing more players to catch a glimpse of the experience via an forthcoming "closed technical test."

Technical Test Details

Considering it's a private technical test, it's naturally limited access than, say, an public test. To participate in the exclusive trial — which runs from Oct. 22 at 10 a.m. PDT to October 28th — players must meet the following pre-requisites:

• Apply via the official website
• Reside in supported regions
• Have access to a PS5, Xbox console, or Windows PC (system requirements include an compatible CPU, supported graphics card, and sufficient memory)
• Join the official Discord server
• Sign an NDA via the Discord server

How to Apply

Registration is currently available, and to be considered for the technical test, players must submit their application by the October 16th deadline. PC users can also submit their application via Steam starting on October 13th, with Steam applications due by October 26th. The developer will contact players who qualify and provide details of the next steps.

"This represents a crucial milestone for us as we test our improvements since Marathon's Alpha, including three maps, five runner shells, proximity communication, adjusted gameplay rhythm, individual matchmaking, deeper environmental storytelling, and more," Bungie stated. "That said, the Technical Test build is a development build and will only include a selection of what's intended for Marathon's full release, concentrating on the initial gameplay moments."

Further Details

More info about the private trial and the actual experience can be located on Marathon's help page. But for players who don't qualify for the test (or cannot participate), there's still good news: The developer says a public update on the state of the game is the next thing on the schedule once the trial concludes.

"We'll be sharing a comprehensive report on the game's progress in the near future after the private testing phase!" The studio announced.