Bungie's New FPS "Marathon" to Host Closed Technical Test from October 23 to 29, Japan Time; Tester Recruitment Open, but Players from Japan Cannot Participate
Note: the original Japanese article can be found at:
https://www.4gamer.net/games/709/G070952/20251007006/
Writer: Katsutani Umi | 2025/10/07 03:09 (UTC)
Bungie, under Sony Interactive Entertainment, has announced on its official website that the closed technical test for its upcoming FPS “Marathon” (available on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S) will take place from October 23 to 29, 2025, between 2:00 AM and 2:00 AM JST. The supported platforms are PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S.
“Marathon” is set on the lost colony “Tau Ceti IV,” where players join a special squad of mercenaries known as “Runners.” The game features a PvPvE escape shooter format in which three-player crews cooperate to battle rival teams and opposing surveillance units, recovering valuable weapons and items left behind within the ruins of a massive vessel called “Marathon.”
The original version released in 1994 for Apple’s Macintosh served as a pivotal project that propelled Bungie forward. However, the reimagined “Marathon” has faced setbacks—specifically, art asset theft allegations raised during its alpha test this past May—which led to an indefinite delay of its release.
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Marathon’s release indefinitely delayed. Facing criticism over alpha test results and art theft allegations, Bungie to focus on enhancing survival elements and rebuilding the game’s world setting to better match the original series’ dark tone
Bungie has announced the indefinite delay of its PvPvE shooter “Marathon,” originally scheduled for release in Japan on September 24, 2025. Moving forward, the studio plans to enhance survival mechanics and gameplay experience while completely reworking the game’s world setting to restore a darker tone closer to that of the original series.
[October 18, 2025, 11:22]
- Keywords:
- PC:Marathon
- PC
- FPS
- Bungie
- Bungie
- PS5:Marathon
- PS5
- Xbox Series X|S:Marathon
- Xbox Series X|S
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- Writer: Utsugawa Kaito
This technical test will be conducted under a non-disclosure agreement, so very little information is expected to leak during the testing period. The test will focus on evaluating newly added content since the alpha version—including three new maps, five runner shells, an adjacent chat system, adjustments to actions, solo gameplay mechanics, and initial player experience.
Although “Marathon” has been confirmed to include Japanese voice support, this technical test is limited exclusively to players in North America and Europe. Unfortunately, applicants from Asia—such as Japan—are not being accepted at this time. Still, if the testing results are positive, additional participation slots may be added in the future, so further updates should be closely watched.