Bungie remains silent on Marathon following its last controversy and delay, and even Sony is unsure if it will arrive within this fiscal year. Nevertheless, development is progressing, as invites have gone out for the third closed playtest and a 30-day user research study.
Both are invite-only, with the former available from September 3rd to 5th. The latter runs from September 8th to October 7th and will require participants to play one hour daily from 3 to 7 PM PST on weekdays and 2 to 8 PM PST on weekends. There will be daily and weekly surveys, and once the research study concludes, participants will receive a $500 gift card. If your playtime falls short, however, you’ll be compensated accordingly.
Based on leaked images from the last alpha, Bungie has made several improvements to Marathon’s visuals and gameplay. The current plan is to announce a new release date this Autumn, though that could change depending on development progress, so stay tuned.
Marathon is in development for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC. Unlike the classic Marathon trilogy, this is a PvP extraction shooter where players control Runners vying for resources left on Tau Ceti IV.
