Bungie’s Marathon has been seeing plenty of early playtests behind closed doors, but now it’s everyone’s time to play as the studio is holding a Server Slam on February 26, which is essentially a Marathon open beta.
- The Escapist recaps
- All we know about the Marathon open beta
- How to gain access
- Ask The Escapist
- References
As announced as part of the PlayStation State of Play, the Server Slam open playtest will let players jump into the game a few days before its full launch on March 5. Here’s everything we know about it so far.
The Escapist recaps
- Marathon launches on March 5, but you can play it earlier with a ‘Server Slam’ open beta from February 26.
- No preorder is required, so you can jump straight in if you’re curious.
- The beta will be available on PS5, Xbox, and PC via Steam.
All we know about the Marathon open beta
Despite being revealed at a Sony event, the Server Slam is available for all players from February 26 at 10 AM PT to March 2 at the same time across Steam, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S.
As confirmed in a blog post, cross-play and cross-save are included, with rewards available at launch for players who complete objectives like finishing the first mission, reaching Runner Level 10, and Runner Level 30.
As for what’s included in the Server Slam playtest, players will find five of the six Runner shells available in the full game, as well as the option to play solo, as a team, and use proximity chat.
Two zones will be available, as well as five factions and progression trees for them, while launch will include more zones, the sixth Runner shell (Thief), and much more.
How to gain access
Thankfully, since no preorder is necessary, you can just jump straight in by downloading the Marathon Open Beta/Server Slam on your platform of choice.
You’ll need to have a paid online subscription to Xbox Live or PlayStation Plus, though, but having access to the latter will grant you weapon charms from Helldivers 2, Death Stranding 2, and Ghost of Yotei.
For more on Marathon, check out our thoughts on whether Bungie can balance its shiny new extraction shooter with Destiny 2, its long-running MMO/shooter hybrid.
Ask The Escapist
It’s hard to say this early and with the game not having launched yet, but the fact that preorders have propelled the shooter up the Steam charts is a good sign.
Bungie is planning for Destiny 2 and Marathon to coexist, but there are fears that the studio has bitten off more than it can chew.
The game is an extraction shooter that’s a reboot of one of Bungie’s older series that predates its work on Halo.
References
- Marathon’s Server Slam Begins February 26 (Bungie.net)
Last Updated On: Feb 13, 2026 12:10 am CET