Ten months ago, I played early builds of Marathon and Arc Raiders on the same day and subsequently wrote "I'm honestly shocked, but Arc Raiders is a much more exciting extraction shooter than Marathon".
A lot has happened since: Bungie went dark on Marathon after its playtest got less than stellar reception, which eventually resulted in a 2026 delay. Embark held a Server Slam for Arc Raiders soon after, inadvertently eating Bungie's lunch and setting the stage for a huge launch.
Now, just weeks away from Marathon's delayed launch, Bungie wants another chance. Marathon will have its own Server Slam from February 26 to March 2. The playtest will run right up to the final days before launch on Thursday, March 5.
The Server Slam will be open across all platforms: PC, PS5, and Xbox with cross-play and cross-save supported. The event is also, apparently, part of Steam Next Fest, which is funny considering Valve's demo fests are typically meant for games not releasing a few short days later.
The Server Slam won't have everything in the launch version—just two maps (Dire Marsh and Perimeter) and five out of six total Runner shells (classes). The final version will have two more maps and the Thief shell.
Interestingly, some resources earned during the playtest will carry over if you pick up Marathon. They're gated by player level, as outlined by Bungie in a blog post published today:
Complete your first mission: Unlock the Standard Arrival Cache
- Standard implants (6x)
- Standard Runner shell cores (4x)
- Standard weapon chip mods (6x)
- Weapons: Overrun and Hardline
Reach Runner Level 10: Unlock the Enhanced Arrival Cache (Green)
- Enhanced implants (6x)
- Enhanced Runner shell cores (2x for each shell, 12x total)
- Enhanced weapon chip mods (4x)
- Weapons: Enhanced Magnum and Enhanced Hardline
Reach Runner Level 30: Unlock the Deluxe Arrival Cache (Blue)
- Deluxe and Enhanced implants (3x each, 6x total)
- Deluxe and Enhanced Runner shell cores (1x each for each shell, 12x total)
- Deluxe and Enhanced weapon chip mods (2x each, 4x total)
- Weapons: Deluxe Magnum and Enhanced Volley Rifle
- Backpack: Deluxe Base Backpack
So go forth and slam Bungie's servers, get a good look at Marathon's updated art style, and maybe approach this multiplayer shooter with an open mind. I'm still squarely on the fence about Marathon's combat pacing and boring robot enemies, so the playtest should be illuminating.
