Marathon server slam announced, open preview weekend starts February 26 as Bungie prepares for long-awaited March launch

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Marathon open beta weekend coming this month

Marathon automaton looking up
(Image credit: Bungie / Sony)

Bungie will host a Marathon server slam from Thursday, February 26 through March 2 to give players a chance to test the game and stress-test the servers. The server slam will be available on all platforms.

Announced at today's PlayStation State of Play live show, the Marathon server slam is described by game director Joe Ziegler as an open beta preview – one last chance for everyone (on console, everyone with an online subscription) to sample Bungie's ambitious extraction shooter.

Marathon - Launch Gameplay Trailer | PS5 Games - YouTube Marathon - Launch Gameplay Trailer | PS5 Games - YouTube
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The server slam will start and end at 10am PT / 1pm ET / 6pm BST. This limited version of the game will include two zones, Perimeter and Dire Marsh, and the opening contracts for five of Marathon's factions. All six Runner Shells, including the free-loadout-on-legs class Rook, will be playable. "Solo queue, proximity chat, and more" are also included, Bungie says.

Season 1 of Marathon, the launch season, will bring two more zones in the form of Outpost and Cryo Archive. All six factions will be fully unlocked for progression, unlocking new perks and vendor items, and ranked mode will be added in.

Sony is "very confident" in Marathon after playtests revealed "good points," as well as "not good points" that have since been changed for Bungie's Arc Raiders challenger.

Austin Wood
Austin Wood
Senior writer

Austin has been a game journalist for 12 years, having freelanced for the likes of PC Gamer, Eurogamer, IGN, Sports Illustrated, and more while finishing his journalism degree. He's been with GamesRadar+ since 2019. They've yet to realize his position is a cover for his career-spanning Destiny column, and he's kept the ruse going with a lot of news and the occasional feature, all while playing as many roguelikes as possible.

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