Marathon game director Joe Ziegler gave a brief update of Bungie‘s upcoming extraction shooter. While the video is light on details, it does reveal that they plan on expanding playtesting to more players in 2025.
Marathon director says development is “on track”
During the closing bits of the video, Ziegler confirms Bungie plans to expand its playtest to more players next year. They are looking to add a “significant amount” of testers to these periods, giving players the chance the check out the game during development.
“Speaking of 2025 as well, like we said before, we’ve been really iterating with our players, and so in 2025, we’re going to be expanding our playtests a little bit wider and wider,” says Ziegler. “We’re looking to add a significant amount of players to each of our milestones as we’re going forward, and some of these big inflections are opportunities for you all to join us.”
While platforms or dates for these playtests are not confirmed in the video, Ziegler says that they will let players know the details when they can. Additionally, he implores players who want to keep up to date with Marathon should wishlist it on PS5, Xbox, and Steam. Hopefully, this means console playtests come in 2025.
Ziegler gives a broad overview of where the game is currently in development. He remarks that some parts of Marathon are a bit more complete, like environments, while others are still “coming together,” like its character models. He also adds that enemy models are currently in an “early state.” However, he does confirm that the game’s development is currently “on track.”
“So it’s a little early to show you all of it as one piece, but as you’ve noticed… all of these things are on track,” says Ziegler. “They’re not all together, but when they all do come together, we really, really are looking forward to showing you what that looks like, especially in play.”
The update also shows images of two of its Runners currently named Thief and Stealth. Gameplay details are pretty scarce for both Runners, especially Thief. Ziegler states that their they’ve seen both hilarious and crazy moments during gameplay with this Runner. Stealth utilizes tools of deception to “stalk” around the battlefield. Ziegler says he’s plays this character a “decent amount,” and says in their current state, they are a bit too strong. However, he reassures they will be balanced by the time the game releases.
Marathon is part of Sony’s live service push. Recently, the upcoming extraction shooter’s potential price tag was reported. A specific release date has yet to be announced.
