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

Marathon has drawn a lot of attention since its announcement, and now that the closed alpha is in full swing, players are starting to share their thoughts on the game and its potential. As you may have guessed from the title, things aren’t going quite as well as Bungie might have hoped. For reasons we’ll explore below, many players are urging Bungie to slow down and even delay Marathon’s release, believing the game still needs significant work before it's ready.

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

When Marathon entered its closed Alpha playtests, many players shared their thoughts on its features and overall gameplay, noting that the game has some strong points to be proud of. However, upon closer inspection, several issues with the gameplay became apparent, and many felt these were hard to overlook.

Several players testing Marathon’s Alpha have taken to social media to voice their concerns, with many urging Bungie to delay the game’s launch, potentially pushing it to 2026. This presents a tricky situation, as Sony had set a September 2025 release date, but it seems that there may not be enough time for Bungie to properly iron out the issues, and it shows.

On platforms like YouTube, players such as LegacyKillaHD have echoed the sentiment that the game should be delayed until 2026. They pointed to the game’s Steam charts, which show a significant decline in player retention just one day after the Alpha launched, arguing that these numbers should be concerning for Bungie. They claim Marathon “needs work and a reason to justify a price tag.”

Yes, it's a closed alpha.
Yes, players are limited.

But the drop off should scare Bungie. I genuinely think they'll be delaying to 2026, Marathon needs work and reason to justify a price tag. pic.twitter.com/RuIkh5Aj5i

— Michael (@LegacyKillaHD) April 27, 2025

Bungie is planning to make significant updates to the game before its scheduled release in September, but many players are worried that the developers aren’t fully listening to their concerns, which could result in a rough launch if the issues aren’t addressed. While we don’t yet know what changes Bungie will make between now and September, a rumored Open Beta in August will likely give us a glimpse into how they’ve responded to player feedback.

All we can hope for is that Bungie listens to players’ primary concerns and works to address them in time for the Open Beta. If things go well, a full launch in September could still be feasible. However, if player feedback remains negative, it might be in Bungie’s best interest to delay the release and take the time needed to ensure Marathon becomes the success it has the potential to be before it reaches a wider audience.