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The upcoming sci-fi extraction shooter, the studio's highly-anticipated game, has reared its head again with the announcement of a closed technical test set to take place soon.

A Rocky Development Journey

First announced during the 2023 PlayStation Showcase, Marathon has experienced a bumpy creation process. Last fall, the developer announced it was aiming to begin alpha testing during the coming year. A period of silence followed, until the project was re-revealed in April with a planned September release. However, following initial testing resulted in negative feedback, the studio revealed during summer that it was postponing the game's launch.

Avoiding Past Mistakes

Despite the title has already seen its portion of controversies, Bungie appears determined to ensure Marathon doesn't suffer Concord's fate. Currently, it appears the game's development is finally getting back on track, as they just revealed that it has conducted multiple private tests to gather feedback on Marathon" since this past summer. The developer is opening the doors a bit wider, enabling additional participants to get an early look of the game via an forthcoming "closed technical test."

Technical Test Details

Considering it's a private technical test, it's understandably more exclusive than, say, an public test. To participate in the technical test — which takes place between Oct. 22 at 10 a.m. PDT to Oct. 28 at 10 a.m. PDT — participants must satisfy the listed requirements:

• Apply via their platform
• Reside in supported regions
• Have access to a PS5, Xbox console, or compatible computer (system requirements include an compatible CPU, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti GPU, and sufficient memory)
• Join the official Discord server
• Sign an NDA via the Discord server

How to Apply

Registration is currently available, and to be eligible for the private trial, applicants must complete registration by the October 16th deadline. Players on Windows PC can also register via Steam starting on October 13th, with Steam applications due by Oct. 26 at 4 p.m. PDT. The developer will contact selected participants and inform them of the next steps.

"This is an important checkpoint for us as we test our improvements since Marathon's Alpha, including multiple locations, several character options, prox chat, re-tuned combat pacing, solo queue, enhanced narrative elements, and additional features," the studio stated. "However, the current version is a development build and will only include a portion of what's intended for the game's final version, focused on the early player experience."

Additional Information

Additional details about the private trial and the game itself can be found on the game's help page. But for players who aren't selected for the test (or don't have time), there's positive developments: The developer says a official announcement on the state of the game is the following item on the schedule once the trial concludes.

"There will be a comprehensive report on the game's progress in the near future after the private testing phase!" Bungie announced.