Overview of Marathon’s Upcoming Closed Alpha
- The first closed alpha of Bungie’s Marathon is set to commence on April 23, 2025.
- This initial testing phase will continue until May 4, with the official game launch slated for September 23, 2025.
- The alpha phase will be exclusively available to residents of the United States and Canada, with additional testing opportunities expected for other regions prior to the game’s release.
For gaming enthusiasts eager to dive into Marathon before its official release, Bungie has announced an exciting opportunity: a closed alpha slated for late April. This announcement coincided with a cinematic trailer that unveiled the long-anticipated release date for Bungie’s latest shooting title.
Marking Bungie’s first major release since the popular Destiny 2, launched back in September 2017, Marathon shifts away from its predecessors’ narratives. This upcoming entry in the Marathon franchise adopts an extraction shooter model—a genre that has evolved significantly since the original series emerged in the mid-1990s.
Initially revealed at the PlayStation Games Showcase in May 2023, progress reports on Marathon had been scarce until now. Finally breaking its silence, Bungie provided a comprehensive gameplay preview on April 12, revealing the September 23 release date and confirming that some players will gain exclusive early access through the alpha.
Details on Marathon’s Closed Alpha
- Start Date: April 23, 2025
- End Date: May 4, 2025
- Supported Platforms: PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S
The upcoming closed alpha will provide testers with an early glimpse into Marathon, beginning on April 23. Those selected to participate will need to sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) before they can access this pre-release version. Running for nearly two weeks, the alpha will conclude on May 4 and be accessible on all major platforms, including PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.
Steps to Participate in the Marathon Closed Alpha
- Be a resident of the U.S. or Canada and at least 18 years old.
- Join the official Marathon Discord server.
- Go to the #alpha_access channel.
- Type /alpha (including the forward slash) in the message box and send it.
- Wait to see if you are fortunate enough to receive an alpha invite via email a few days before the test begins.
- Redeem your access code on Bungie.net.
- Participate in the Marathon closed alpha starting April 23, 2025.
It is important to note that participation in the first Marathon alpha is geographically limited; only residents of Canada and the U.S. are eligible. This strategy suggests that Bungie intends to stress-test the game’s server capacity regionally, which is a commonly employed practice in game testing. To determine eligibility for the alpha, interested players can use the form provided by Bungie.
At launch, Marathon will feature three maps, though it remains unclear if these will be part of the closed alpha. Furthermore, some players have reported difficulties signing up, with Bungie’s customer support noting technical issues due to inadequate string sanitization. These issues reportedly affected only those whose usernames contain special characters or numbers. Bungie aims to resolve the problem by 1:30 PM Pacific Time on April 12.