Marathon Alpha Falters: Top Players Urge Bungie to Delay 2025 Release After Disappointing Test

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The debut of Marathon‘s Alpha version was met with a wide range of responses, as those fortunate enough to try it early had both positive and negative opinions about the game. However, several prominent creators involved in its development have suggested postponing its release.

Keep in mind that Marathon’s Alpha version is precisely what it sounds like – an initial release. This early edition doesn’t entirely reflect the finished game as planned. Yet, despite this understanding, some prominent content creators are advocating for a postponement of the launch.

During this initial testing phase, Marathon’s total player numbers may not accurately reflect interest because it was an Alpha with restricted access. However, the significant decrease in players since its launch is not particularly encouraging.

There’s a growing disinterest among many people who can play it about Marathon, and some creators who have experienced the game are voicing their worries that it should be postponed from its 2025 release date.

Players & creators call for Marathon delay

Previously, there have been delays in scheduling the marathon, as indicated by reports following its 2023 unveiling. It seems that internal testing at Bungie has not been exceptionally positive.

Afterwards, the game was returned to intensive refinement for further enhancements, aiming to create a polished experience ready for a complete gameplay unveiling. In 2025, this unveiling occurred simultaneously with a scheduled release in September.

However, based on feedback from several early players, it appears that the game has some significant problems. Notably, influential creators with substantial fanbases have suggested postponing its release to address these issues and ensure a smoother launch.

According to Destiny specialist Paul Tassi from Forbes, he proposes that its release should be pushed back to no earlier than 2026.

He argued that it would be best for the release of “Marathon” to be pushed back to 2026, and there might even be a need for a substantial delay of around 4-6 months beyond its initial September launch date. This is due to several critical issues within the game that require attention and resolution.

Over the past few months, I’ve learned about Bungie needing more time for development, aiming for a 2026 release, while Sony seems to be pressing for a 2025 launch instead. Well, Sony, it’s important to understand everyone’s perspective in this situation.

LegacyKillaHD, a YouTube personality boasting more than 700,000 subscribers, has advised pushing the release into 2026 as well. Since its launch, the game’s Alpha version has experienced an average drop of over 70% in player count. This decline persists even with new testers being regularly added to the pool.

Indeed, it is currently in a closed testing phase, which means participation is restricted.

However, the low number of players might give Bungie pause. In my opinion, they may choose to postpone the release until 2026, as there are kinks that need ironing out and compelling reasons that should be presented to justify the price tag. The “Marathon” aspect seems to require more refinement.

— Michael (@LegacyKillaHD) April 27, 2025

He suggested that the release should give Bungie pause, as he believes they may push it back to 2026. He feels that Marathon requires refinement and a compelling reason for its cost.

Another content creator, Gothalion, who previously dedicated much of his work to Destiny and boasts an impressive following of over 250k subscribers on YouTube, also anticipates a delay in the release.

If you don’t start strongly in Player-versus-Player (PvP) competition by securing a title, it will be very challenging, if not impossible, to catch up and regain territory in that particular field,” he asserted.

As a passionate admirer, I’ve noticed that many other creative minds share similar sentiments. Some have voiced their disagreement with certain fundamental game mechanics, much like Shroud did with auto-aim, expressing concern and suggesting a delay in the release. Others, however, have decided that the game simply doesn’t resonate with them on a personal level.

Given that Marathon is scheduled for launch in just 5 months and a beta phase is planned beforehand, Bungie still has an opportunity to make adjustments and tackle player concerns. Nevertheless, responses from the Alpha testing aren’t overly positive, suggesting that fixing the problems players have highlighted might require more time than they currently have available.

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2025-04-30 01:18