Sony confirms Bungie’s October closed technical test for Marathon saw around 80,000 players take part, with gameplay and retention as key focus areas.
Bungie’s upcoming extraction shooter Marathon has quietly been moving through a series of internal and closed playtests over the past several months. Since the game’s initial reveal, the studio has been running small-scale sessions with invited players to test new features, systems, and Runners.
Last month, Bungie expanded those efforts with a much larger Closed Technical Test, which ran from October 22 to October 29, two days longer than initially planned. The test was under strict NDA and was available for players on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X / S, and Steam.
Now, we finally have official numbers from Sony confirming just how big this latest test really was.
Sony Confirms Marathon’s October Test Involved 80,000 Players
During Sony’s Q2 FY25 earnings call, CFO Lin Tao revealed that Marathon’s October technical test involved around 80,000 players over the course of a week. This is the first time Sony has disclosed specific figures around public-facing Marathon tests.
According to Tao, the team focused heavily on two key performance indicators: gameplay feel and player retention. “We are still working on it,” Tao said. “From October 22nd and then 28th for a week, there is a technical test that involves 80,000 people. As a result, the gameplay and then retention, those are the key KPIs that we tested on.”
She also reiterated that Marathon is still expected to launch within Sony’s current fiscal year, which ends March 31, 2026.
“And then we are in the process of analyzing the performance against those KPIs, and as needed, we will make corrections, and we are fully dedicated to launching the title as scheduled. And yes, we assume that we will launch this within the year, and that is included in the forecast.”
While Sony reaffirmed its commitment to launching Marathon “within the year” (by March 2026), Bungie still hasn’t announced an exact release date. The studio has said it plans to share a more detailed development update in the coming weeks or months.
What are your thoughts on Marathon’s progress so far? Let us know in the comments below!
