Bungie Studios has announced the start of global technical testing of the extraction first-person shooter Marathon. The stage called Server Slam takes place on PC (Steam), PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S, offering users not only to evaluate the gameplay before the official release, but also to help developers debug the network infrastructure. The project also became part of the February festival “Games to Be” on Steam.
The current stage is aimed at testing servers under extreme loads, so players may encounter queues to enter, short-term connection breaks and unscheduled technical work. All the bugs identified this weekend will allow the team to prepare a more stable build for the full release of the game, scheduled for March 5, 2026. Characters’ progress will be reset after completing the test.
The test version allows access to two landing zones on Tau Ceti IV – the border territory “Perimeter” and the abandoned agricultural center “Eerie Swamp”. Players can complete introductory contracts with five factions, as well as try out the five available Runner skins. You can play either alone or in squads.
Server Slam participants can receive various bonuses depending on their activity. Completing the introductory task will earn you a unique Beta.exe logo and profile background. In addition, there are “welcome caches” with implants, modifiers and weapons (including Overrun and Hardline models), the value of which is affected by the Runner’s level achieved. If you manage to develop your character to level 30, you will receive the rarest set of class equipment.
Additional cosmetic items can be earned through the Twitch Drops system. For watching Marathon streams of any category, viewers will receive stickers, backgrounds, and a special Twitch-style machine gun skin.
