A new trailer for Marathon showed off the grim trauma lurking beneath the surface of the extraction shooter’s colorful Tau Ceti IV planetary environments, but it teased more than just sci-fi horror worldbuilding. Bungie also revealed the dates for the game’s pre-launch beta, giving players one last chance to go hands-on before deciding whether to fork over $40 for Sony’s latest live-service multiplayer game.
Marathon‘s pre-launch “server slam” goes live on February 26 and will run through March 2, just a few days before the game’s full release date on March 5. Players will be able to dive into the game for free on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC with the limited demo coinciding with the upcoming Steam Next Fest. While you don’t need to pre-order the game to get in, you’ll need a PS Plus or Game Pass Core subscription to access the server slam on consoles.
The open beta will feature a “limited selection of maps, Runner shells, and contracts” for players to test out, with more maps, factions, contracts, gear, and other content coming at launch and during Season 1. While progress won’t carry over to the full game, players can earn tiered gear packages that will then come in handy when they get started in the loot extraction shooter once it’s out.
PS Plus subscribers will also get the chance to unlock a handful of exclusive rewards to show they participated in the server slam: special emblems and banners linked to other PlayStation franchises. Those include weapon charms from Helldivers 2, Death Stranding 2, and Ghost of Yotei. Xbox and PC players will be able to earn them too at some point, though it’s not clear how yet. Marathon went through a rough patch last year but recent leaks of a playtest in China suggested things have improved quite a bit since the original alpha test.