Summary
- Bungie is purportedly inviting gaming influencers and content creators to playtest Marathon.
- YouTuber HiddenXperia recently confirmed his week-long involvement in the Marathon playtests, describing the game as "surreal."
- These external playtests may indicate that Bungie is preparing to reveal more details about Marathon in the coming months.
Bungie has seemingly commenced playtests for its upcoming live-service extraction shooter, Marathon. Gaming influencers and content creators have apparently been visiting Bungie's headquarters to try out Marathon and likely provide feedback on it.
Marathon was announced in summer 2023 as a revival of Bungie's long-dormant but well-regarded first-person shooter series from the 1990s. Where the original Marathon games were campaign-heavy, though, the upcoming reboot is a live-service title that draws inspiration from extraction shooters like Escape from Tarkov. New directions aren't uncommon when rebooting franchises, but Marathon's reputation has taken a hit due to its troubled development, with rumors of misconduct, creative leads exiting, potential delays, and more.
Bungie Reportedly Fired Marathon Director After Misconduct Investigation
A new report claims that Bungie fired its Marathon director after an internal investigation, which included various complaints from employees.
Although unconfirmed, rumors suggest Bungie is internally targeting a 2025 release window for Marathon. The recent reports of Marathon sporting a $40 price tag lend further credence to this, as pricing is usually worked out in the back half of development. A 2025 launch seems likelier now, as Bungie has started inviting content creators and influencers to playtest Marathon. YouTuber HiddenXperia recently announced on Twitter that he's been playing Marathon at Bungie "all week" alongside an image of a custom Marathon ID tag.
YouTuber HiddenXperia Describes Marathon as a "Surreal Experience"
More content creators have yet to come forward and confirm their involvement in the Marathon playtests, but HiddenXperia's initial impressions seem promising. While he couldn't delve into finer details (most likely because of confidentiality agreements), HiddenXperia described the Marathon experience as "surreal." Only time will tell whether this term was used in a positive connotation, but it does at least allude to Marathon delivering on its distinctive sci-fi art style. The content creators involved in the Marathon playtests are possibly under an embargo, after which they can freely speak about their time with the game. Therefore, those eager to learn more about Marathon might have to be patient until then.
Moreover, if Marathon is in a good enough shape for external playtesting, Bungie may be gearing up to reveal more information (including a confirmed release window) about the live-service extraction shooter in the coming months. The 2024 Game Awards ceremony is the only major gaming event left for 2024, but speculation is also brewing around Sony hosting another State of Play before the end of the year that will announce more tentpole PS5 exclusives slated for release in 2025. If Marathon's marketing is indeed planned to kick off this year, then the latter event makes more sense, but it all remains to be seen.
