Bungie is moving forward with Marathon’s development as Playtest 2 invites roll out for this month’s closed session.
After a confirmed delay that pushed Marathon past its original September 2025 release, Bungie’s upcoming extraction shooter is starting to show signs of momentum again. The project has had a tough road so far, with the whole art theft controversy, reports of internal challenges, and mixed early feedback from playtests.
Just last month, a limited NDA-protected playtest took place. Now, players have started receiving emails for Closed Playtest 2, and it’s happening sooner than many expected.
Marathon Playtest 2 Start Date and Time
The news surfaced on the Marathon subreddit, where users shared a screenshot of the official invite email from Bungie. According to the email, Marathon Closed Playtest 2 will take place from July 25 to July 27, running daily between 2 PM and 6 PM PT.
Those invited are asked to complete a short survey to confirm participation by July 21 at 11:59 PM PT. As with the first session, this playtest appears to be strictly under NDA, and participants are not allowed to share gameplay or assets outside of the private Discord channels provided by Bungie.
Here’s the full email text:
“We would like to invite you to join us for Marathon Closed Playtest 2! The playtest will run during a window of 2-6PM PT from 7/25 to 7/27. If you are interested, please fill out this brief survey to confirm your participation.
“There are limited spots available, so please answer by 11:59PM PT on 7/21. If you choose to participate in this closed playtest, sharing any info or assets outside of the designated private Discord channels will be prohibited. We will be in touch with next steps on how to access your code next week.”
So far, Bungie has not shared any plans for an open beta or wider access. Meanwhile, the pressure around Marathon continues to build. Reports suggest the game needs to hit top 5 NPD annual sales to be considered a success by Bungie’s internal standards.
Sony also commented on the game, describing early player engagement as “strong” and calling the title “innovative and bold” in its latest business update.
What do you think of the current pace of Marathon’s development? Did you get an invite? Let us know in the comments.
