Get Exclusive Access to Bungie’s Marathon Before Anyone Else

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Summary

  • The first closed alpha for Bungie’s Marathon is kicking off on April 23.
  • The test will run until May 4, while the game itself releases on September 23.
  • The newly confirmed alpha will only be available to residents of the U.S. and Canada. Other regions are likely to receive their own tests ahead of the extraction shooter’s release.

People who are eager to try out Marathon before its official launch can do so in late April 2025, thanks to an upcoming closed alpha that Bungie has recently confirmed. This playtest was unveiled together with a new cinematic trailer, which also disclosed the release date of Bungie’s much-anticipated shooter.

The upcoming game titled “Marathon” will be Bungie’s initial new release since they launched “Destiny 2” back in September 2017. Unlike the original “Marathon” games, this sequel is a shooter game focusing on extraction, which was a genre yet to be created when the series initially debuted in the mid-90s.

Initially, Bungie unveiled Marathon during the May 2023 PlayStation Games Showcase, but since then, they’ve been relatively quiet about the project for two years. However, this long silence has finally ended as the company just recently gave a comprehensive gameplay reveal of Marathon, along with announcing its release date – September 23. Furthermore, Bungie announced that some fortunate fans will be given early access to play Marathon before anyone else.

Marathon Closed Alpha Test Dates and Platforms

  • Start: April 23
  • End: May 4
  • Supported platforms: PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S

A sneak peek at the game Marathon can now be accessed via its just-announced closed alpha testing phase, starting on April 23rd. If you’re fortunate enough to gain entry into the playtesting group, you’ll first need to sign a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) before diving into the preliminary version of Marathon. The alpha test will continue for approximately two weeks until May 4th. Bungie has confirmed that this testing phase will be supported on all intended platforms for Marathon, including PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and personal computers (PC).

How To Play Marathon Closed Alpha Test

  1. Be a U.S. or Canadian resident who’s at least 18 years old.
  2. Join the official Marathon Discord server.
  3. Navigate to the #alpha_access channel.
  4. Type /alpha (with the forward slash) into the channel’s message box and hit send.
  5. Be fortunate enough to get accepted into the tester pool and receive an alpha invite via email a few days ahead of the test.
  6. Redeem the access code on Bungie.net.
  7. Join the Marathon closed alpha test on April 23, 2025.

Initially, the alpha version of Marathon will be heavily restricted geographically, only available to residents from Canada and the United States. This limitation implies that Bungie is focusing on testing their game’s server infrastructure within these regions first, a common industry approach for stress-testing. To determine if you qualify for the test, Bungie has provided a useful form.

As a gamer, I’m excited about the upcoming release of Marathon, which will initially feature three maps. However, Bungie hasn’t made it clear yet if the same number of maps will be available during their closed alpha testing. What is clearer is that some players are having trouble signing up for the test. Bungie’s customer support has pointed out that an issue with inadequate string sanitization is causing the problem, affecting only users whose usernames start with a special character or number. Luckily, they aim to fix this bug by 1:30pm Pacific on April 12.

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2025-04-12 23:34