Troubled PS5 First-Person Shooter Is Back, 3 Months After It Was Indefinitely Delayed

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PlayStation is trying to regain its footing in the shooter game market, despite recent challenges. While PlayStation is famous for its high-quality, story-driven single-player games – what fans really want – it’s also been attempting to attract shooter fans. Previously, PlayStation offered special advantages for Call of Duty players, but those ended when Microsoft acquired the game. PlayStation has been trying to create successful ongoing online games, but their first attempt, *Concord*, didn’t work out last year. Though *Fairgames* is a new effort to fill this gap, other similar projects have either faced problems or been cancelled.

I’m really excited about *Marathon*, one of PlayStation’s big pushes into the live-service game world. It’s actually a revival of a classic Bungie franchise from way back in the 90s – before *Halo* took off! Bungie, after all their work on *Destiny*, is bringing it back as an extraction shooter, and it’s going to look really different. Even though Bungie is now part of PlayStation, they’re planning to release it on Xbox too, which is awesome. It’s been a bit of a bumpy road though, and the game has faced some pretty significant challenges during development.

Marathon Is Returning With New Playtest

We first learned about the game *Marathon* earlier this year, with plans for a September release. However, a recent playtest didn’t go well, and it was discovered that one of the developers had used artwork without permission. This led to an investigation to check for other instances of plagiarism. Combined with the negative feedback on the game itself, *Marathon* has been indefinitely delayed, leaving its future uncertain.

PlayStation and Bungie are once again focusing on their game *Marathon*. They’re starting with a limited technical test – players who participate will need to sign a non-disclosure agreement. This test runs from October 22nd to October 28th, and you can sign up starting today. Bungie has also promised to share more information about *Marathon* with everyone in the months following the test.

Bungie announced this test is a key step in evaluating the changes they’ve made since the Alpha version. They’re testing new content like three maps, five character models, proximity chat, adjusted combat speed, solo play options, and a more detailed game world. However, this test version is still under development and won’t include everything planned for the final release of Marathon, focusing instead on what players experience early in the game.

Even though the *Marathon* test is under a non-disclosure agreement, information often leaks out. We’ll likely see gameplay details or descriptions appear online eventually. Depending on the reaction, Bungie might even allow the leaks to continue, as they can sometimes generate excitement. There’s been some criticism that *Marathon* isn’t free-to-play, but this delay could lead to a different launch strategy.

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2025-10-07 22:10