Bungie appears to be gearing up for a new closed playtest for Marathon later this month, according to an email shared online.
Bungie’s PvP extraction shooter, Marathon, wrapped up its Closed Alpha earlier this year, which was met with mixed feedback. Players liked the potential, but many felt it was still missing key features like proximity chat, better visuals, and better gameplay loops.
Fastforwarding to this week, Bungie officially delayed the game past its original September 2025 launch date, saying it needed more time and that future playtests would continue behind closed doors.
Now it seems those next steps are starting to take shape. Bungie said it would be conducting more closed playtests throughout the coming months, and new information suggests that the first of these could begin as soon as this month.
Marathon Closed Playtest 1 Details Surface via Email
A Reddit user named u/unfairlyy shared what appears to be a new email invitation from Bungie, sent out to players who participated in the Closed Alpha. According to the email, Bungie is inviting select testers to join Marathon Closed Playtest 1, which is scheduled to run from June 27 to June 29, during a set window from 2 PM to 6 PM PT each day.
Participants are being asked to fill out a brief survey to confirm interest and will need to sign an updated Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) before joining. The email also makes it clear that any content or feedback from the playtest must stay within specific private Discord channels, meaning the entire test will be held under NDA, with no public gameplay or impressions allowed.
You can read the full email below:
“Marathon Closed Playtest 1 – You’re invited
“Thank you for playing in our Closed Marathon Alpha Test. We have been making changes to the game and are eager to hear more of your feedback on Marathon and would like to invite you to join us for Marathon Closed Playtest 1! The playtest will run during a window of 2–6PM PT from 6/27 to 6/29.
“If you are interested, please fill out this brief survey, in which you will be required to sign our Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) and confirm your participation. If you choose to participate in this closed playtest, sharing any info or assets outside of the designated private Discord channels will be prohibited.
“There are limited spots available, so please answer by 11:59PM PT on 6/23. We will be in touch with next steps soon after.
“See you on Tau Ceti IV, The Marathon Dev Team”
In other news, Sony’s Hermen Hulst recently addressed the state of Marathon in an annual business meeting, noting that the feedback from early alpha testing was “varied.”
He said that Marathon will get the best possible shot at success when it eventually launches. Hulst also made it clear that Sony doesn’t want to repeat mistakes made with past live-service efforts like Concord.
How do you feel about the future of Marathon? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
