Marathon Alpha Testers Urge Bungie to Delay Launch, Say the Game Still “Needs Work”

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Since its unveiling, Marathon has attracted a great deal of interest, and with the closed alpha now underway, opinions about the game and its prospects are beginning to surface among players. As you might infer from the title, things aren’t quite shaping up as well as Bungie may have anticipated. This piece aims to discuss why numerous players are advocating for Bungie to tread cautiously and potentially postpone Marathon’s launch, arguing that the game requires substantial refinement before it’s fit for release.

Alpha Testers Say Marathon Still “Needs Work” Before Its Release And Urge Bungie To Delay

As Marathon initiated its exclusive Alpha testing phase, numerous players voiced their opinions about the game’s aspects and general playability. They highlighted several noteworthy strengths, but upon a more detailed examination, some gameplay concerns emerged that proved difficult to ignore for many testers.

A significant number of players testing Marathon’s Alpha have expressed their worries on social media platforms, suggesting that Bungie should postpone the game’s release, possibly moving it to 2026. However, this proposal creates a challenging predicament since Sony has fixed a September 2025 launch date. It appears that the allotted time might be inadequate for Bungie to adequately address the identified issues, and the current state of affairs seems to support this view.

On platforms like YouTube, content creators such as LegacyKillaHD have expressed the opinion that the game should wait until 2026 before its release. They highlighted the Steam charts of player retention, which showed a noticeable drop in players only one day after the Alpha debuted, stating this trend is cause for worry among developers at Bungie. They argue that the game needs refinement and a strong reason to justify its cost.

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

However, the number of participants is limited, and this could be concerning for Bungie. I have a feeling they might postpone the release until 2026, as there are improvements to be made, particularly in the Marathon mode, and they need to provide compelling reasons for players to pay the price tag.

— Michael (@LegacyKillaHD) April 27, 2025

Before its release in September, Bungie intends to implement major modifications to the game. However, some players are anxious that the developers might not be taking their concerns seriously enough, which could lead to a bumpy launch if the problems aren’t resolved. We don’t have all the details about the updates just yet, but an alleged Open Beta in August may offer us a sneak peek at how they’ve addressed player input.

We can only cross our fingers that Bungie pays heed to players’ main issues and works diligently to resolve them prior to the Open Beta. If all goes smoothly, a complete launch in September might be achievable. But if player feedback stays unfavorable, it may be beneficial for Bungie to postpone the release and invest the necessary time to make sure Marathon lives up to its potential as a success among the masses, instead of rushing things.

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2025-04-30 21:13