Bungie's next FPS, Marathon, is finally going live... sort of. The closed alpha kicks off April 23 ahead of the planned release in September 2025. You’ll need to be in North America, over 18, and get a code from Bungie through their Discord. No code, no access. This isn’t a public playtest. It’s locked, limited, and quiet. No word yet on how long it runs.
The alpha gives you four “runners” to pick from and two maps to fight over. It’s built around three-player squads, it's trios only, although you can queue as a single or pair. The runners feel like stripped-down Destiny classes. Blackbird drops a spiderbot and leans toward support. Void plays the stealth card with invisibility. Locus brings a tactical shield and tanky feel. Glitch (ha!) is fast, all about movement, with a double jump and a sliding boost.
Maps are limited but different enough to test things. Perimeter’s a forested area with space for 15 players split across five squads. Dire Marsh opens things up a bit, running six crews and a total of 18 players. No proximity chat. No solo mode. No fluff. Bungie’s betting on PvPvE extraction with a light layer of story behind it.
Is this just Destiny with a fresh coat of paint? That's the concern here, which is not to say that Destiny is bad, just that I hate live service games with a passion. If anyone is in North America and is in the test, let us know if you get into the alpha. I'd be interested to know if you think this actually has legs, or if it's just Destiny 3.
The alpha gives you four “runners” to pick from and two maps to fight over. It’s built around three-player squads, it's trios only, although you can queue as a single or pair. The runners feel like stripped-down Destiny classes. Blackbird drops a spiderbot and leans toward support. Void plays the stealth card with invisibility. Locus brings a tactical shield and tanky feel. Glitch (ha!) is fast, all about movement, with a double jump and a sliding boost.
Maps are limited but different enough to test things. Perimeter’s a forested area with space for 15 players split across five squads. Dire Marsh opens things up a bit, running six crews and a total of 18 players. No proximity chat. No solo mode. No fluff. Bungie’s betting on PvPvE extraction with a light layer of story behind it.
Is this just Destiny with a fresh coat of paint? That's the concern here, which is not to say that Destiny is bad, just that I hate live service games with a passion. If anyone is in North America and is in the test, let us know if you get into the alpha. I'd be interested to know if you think this actually has legs, or if it's just Destiny 3.