Marathon Playtest Announced for December, But The Wait for a Release Date Continues

Bungie is still due to announce a new release date for its troubled extraction shooter Marathon, but it has revealed the next Community Playtest. Available from December 12th to 15th, sign-ups are now available for consoles and PC, and even if you’ve participated in previous alphas or playtests, you’ll need to apply.

The playtest will be available from 2 PM to 8 PM PT daily and is under NDA, including gameplay and details about one’s experience. All feedback and bug reports are limited to the game’s official Discord. Unfortunately, the playtest is limited to North America, so the wait continues for players from other regions.

Based on leaked impressions from previous playtests, Marathon has seen improvements to its lighting and user interface alongside never-before-seen maps. However, while Sony is still planning for a release by March 31st, 2026, Bungie has remained quiet on pricing, an open playtest, etc. Given the timing of the playtest, which begins one day after The Game Awards, perhaps a new trailer can be expected? Time will tell.

In the meantime, Alberto Mielgo, who directed the debut cinematic short, recently clarified that it was not made with AI. “Everything you see in this film: paintings, animations, 2D and 3D work, compositing, and renders is done with a huge team — 155 incredible people and hell of hours, days, months… Yes, our Achilles’ heel: time.”