Bungie came out swinging last year with the full reveal of their 3D-printed-punk multiplayer extraction shooter Marathon, based in the world of the original by the same name that came out in 1994. Unfortunately, besides praise for the artistic skill shown off in the short-film reveal directed by Alberto Mielgo, the community’s read on the game wasn’t very positive surrounding its first wave of marketing last year. This was further amplified by controversy involving the graphic design artist Fern Hook, which you can read about further here. However, after delaying the game’s release to this year, Bungie took the backlash in stride and pushed content later in 2025 showcasing revisions they had made in accordance to criticism, as well as several behind-the-scenes showcases, cinematic trailers, and social posts that seemed to have restored a lot of public reception about Marathon. Now, in preparation for the game’s full release next Thursday on March 5th, they’re putting out an open Server Slam a la Arc Raiders that begins tomorrow.
The Slam will end on March 2nd, but until then, anyone is welcome to give the game a spin completely for free. Starting at 10am on February 25th, players on PC, Xbox, and Playstation will have the opportunity to experience the tense PvP firefights, USEC PvE encounters, and saccharine sci-fi world of Tau Ceti, and even keep some of the progress they make if they decide to purchase the game. Well, more specifically, your progress won’t directly carry over, but depending on the amount of XP you earn, you’ll receive “Arrival Caches” of ascending rarity containing some solid starter loot. And along with that, all players who complete the first mission in the Slam get exclusive cosmetics. During the Server Slam, you’ll get a relatively generous peak at Marathon and its gameplay systems. Two maps will be available to raid; Dire Marsh and Perimeter; Five of the six Runner Shells (classes, more or less) can be used; and a smattering of contracts from the game’s five factions can be taken on. Bungie specifies that players could expect to see log-in queues and minor technical issues, but that’s to be expected from an event whose double purpose is to stress-test. There also won’t be any preloading, as according to the devs, they believe that this will assist in eliminating a flood of players rushing the game as soon as it opens up. Pick a runner, grab some gear, and squad up, or go solo and scav out as Rook–however you want to play–prepare to immerse yourself in the ruins of an eerie, neon-soaked colony, and hope you have what it takes to make it back out with loot. Tomorrow when the broader public finally gets its hands on it, Marathon could finally be vindicated from all of the controversy it has faced, or it could unfortunately be mired in it once more.